that He would grant you, according
to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in
the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you,
being rooted and grounded in love, may
be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth
and height- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be
filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19
God, who is not poor in any sense of
the word in any area, desires that His people be strengthened with might through
His Spirit in the inner man and be filled with all the fullness of God. The LORD
who restored to Job is his losses and gave him twice as much as he had before
can do everything but fail. None of His purposes can be withheld from Him and He
is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that works in us - the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the
dead after the world, flesh and devil did their worse to Him.
It is a fact that Jesus, now as the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is no longer poor or weak anymore as He was
when He walked the earth as man. He is now once again unlimited in power,
riches, strength and might. But the best news is that because of what Jesus
Christ did on Calvary, God wants to use all of His power, riches, and resources
on our behalf and to meet our needs: If we only will believe Him and trust Him
to do it for us; If we will only humble ourselves and on a bent knee give Him
our all and ask for His all. Then we
shall know the truth of God’s word which states:
Yet in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37
“Thanks be to God who always leads
us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge
in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14
Jesus departed from there, skirted
the Sea of Galilee , and went up on the mountain
and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the
lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus'
feet, and He healed them. So the
multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the
lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Matthew 15:29-31
Yes, the word of God tells us that
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever and you can be made whole
through your faith in the finished work of Calvary where Jesus Christ wounded
for our transgressions, was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our
peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Sin,
sickness or any other curse doesn’t have to rule and reign in our lives because
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us
(for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree") that the blessing
of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14).
Jesus has provided for our healing,
Spirit, Soul and Body in the atonement. All of the provision of the cross must
impact the body of Christ. Jesus Paid the Price for our Healing - "By His
Stripes" (Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter
2:24) Hence we are anointed and sent
to: Preach the Good News to the
Needy, Bind up the Brokenhearted,
Proclaim Freedom for the Captives, Release the Prisoners from Darkness, Proclaim the Year of the LORD's Favor, To Comfort all Who Mourn, To bestow on them a
crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a
garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18)
God is alive and well and
present today! Jesus is still healing people! The presence of God and the power
of the Holy Spirit is a precious gift that we can experience and see many lives
are being changed as desperate people come and find God's grace and mercy
flowing to them bringing healing and encouragement. The anointing increases as
we are press in for more of God! Then we can see God save people, heal people,
deliver people, baptize in the Holy Spirit, bring encouragement and strength
through the gifts of the Spirit. Many can receive from the Lord healing for
their physical, emotional and spiritual needs and live lives that are whole and
successful.
God is love and freely gives
everything we need, both for our material and for our spiritual existence. But
because the blessings of God’s spirit are so freely given, we often take them
for granted. If all people had open and receptive hearts, they could see and
hear God’s voice at all times and in all places. But we have lost this
awareness. Through prayer, we learn to appreciate spiritual gifts, gifts that
are at least as important for life as air and water, heat and light. Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. For when we have
accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and King by the faith God gave us, the
victory now resides in us and God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all
that we ask, or thing. As God’s word is unchanging:
For this reason I bow my knees to
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the
inner man, that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the width and length and depth and height- to know the love of Christ which passes
knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
It is a fact that according to the
power that resides and works in us, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think and give us one hundred percent victory, one
hundred percent of the time, in one hundred percent of the situations. After all
He is God, not man! It is also a fact
that Jesus, now as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is no longer poor or
weak anymore as He was when He walked the earth as man. He is now once again
unlimited in power, riches, strength and might.
But the best news is that God wants to use all of His power, riches, and
resources on our behalf and meet our needs: If we only will believe Him and
trust Him to do it for us; If we will only humble ourselves and on a bent knee
give Him our all and ask for His all.
Then we shall know the truth of God’s word which states:
Yet in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37
“Thanks be to God who always leads
us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge
in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
As a result of what Jesus did
on the Cross-, by faith everything is ours now.
Jesus Christ has substituted all things on the cross for us and exchanged
it there for us. Our death, defeat and poverty and curses have been nailed to
the Christ. On the Cross Jesus Christ not only won real victory and redemption
over sin and death and the world, but also over the wicked arch enemy Satan and
all his angels who had made the Cross necessary by what he did to Adam and
Eve. The enemy had deceived and
entrapped Adam and Eve to sin against God and live a life that was cursed and
full of toil and trouble. But on the
Cross Jesus Christ did the great exchange.
He exchanged His sinlessness for our sins, His righteousness for our
unrighteousness, His strength for our weakness, His boundless supply for our
needs, His stripes for our healing, His riches for our poverty, His victories
for our defeats, His triumphs for our disappointments, His glory for our shame,
His Honor for our nothingness, His prosperity for our lacks, His joy for our
sadness, and His fullness for our emptiness. But all of this is also something
that must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit before we can understand and
partake of it fully. Yet it is all our birthright and the blessing of the
fullness of the gospel of Christ.
The message of the cross and the
Gospel is not only that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He
was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. He
is now is seated at the right hand of the Father with all power given unto Him
in heaven and earth waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. But the message of the cross and the Gospel
is also that as a result of the victories Jesus won on the cross, He has now
given and shared all that He has with us and He is also with and for us
continually. God in Christ Jesus has
literally become our inheritance and great reward; as well as everything else
which we need, including our healer and deliverer. As result of the Cross, God
said about Jesus and of us who have become strong and overcomers:
Therefore I will divide Him a
portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because
He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah
53:12
As a result of the cross, in Christ
Jesus, we are rich, victorious and have a new life in Christ Jesus, as we walk
in the Spirit and not in the flesh. The
empty Cross now also stands as a reminder and says to the world and to all the
demons of Hell “You did your worst, but God gave His best. Now things are no longer the same, because
Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father waiting for His enemies to be
submitted to Him. He has also now given us the power to subdue all His and our
enemies through the use of His name and Word and dependence of the Spirit. Hence
the Cross is also a real testimony of what God’s power can do no matter what the
Hell or injustice that the world or the devil will throw at us. For Jesus’ resurrection after a cruel and
awful death signifies the real possibility of total and complete victory in our
lives, hearts and circumstances as well in the current time of life as we trust
in God just like Jesus did.
The empty Cross now says to you and
I, that for every defeat there is victory in its place, for every failure there
is success, for every weakness there is grace, for every sickness there is
healing, for every hatred there is love, for every injustice there is justice
and for every poverty there is riches. All of this and much, much more belongs
to each child of God because of what Jesus did and won on the Cross. Hence we can by the Holy Spirit understand
what the Lord said to Apostle Paul:
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will
rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for
Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians
12:9-10)
Our strength and victory comes from
God Himself and all the victories He had won for us on the Cross of Calvary.
Although in the annuals of time and history, our Creator God died on the
Cross-on Calvary , but He didn’t stay there. He
arose triumphant and victorious over everything, over the worst that the devil
or others could throw at or do to Him and to us. Because of the cross of Christ, God has
reconciled all things to Himself whether things on earth or things in heaven for
Jesus having wiped out all the enemies of His people and especially the
requirements that were against them, He has taken it out of the way having
nailed to the cross. It is when the power of Christ rest upon us, because of our
weakness, that we are truly strong. For it is then that we rest upon the Lord
and walk in the power of His might and Spirit and not our own. As we by faith
tap into all the riches and resources of heaven which are now ours by Christ
Jesus because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross two thousand years ago we
become more than conquerors.
The King of Kings and Lord of Lords
with His unlimited and unimaginable power and riches was never poor or debased.
But He chose, because of us, to leave behind his infinite power and riches
become a man and identify and relate to humanity in all its sufferings and ways.
God in Christ Jesus stripped Himself of His royalty and Kingship. He then became
an ordinary man and walked with men doing by faith and dependence on the Holy
Spirit the impossible such as healing the sick, raising the dead and cast out
demons. He did it all to show that we can do it also. Then the innocent Son of
man and Son of God went to a Cross-on a hill called Calvary where He bled and died for all of humanity.
But the Cross-was not the end of
Jesus Christ or life, it was the beginning of something new, a New Covenant or
New Testament. It was the beginning of a new life and a new man and a new Spirit
for those who would accept what Jesus had done for them. It was the beginning of
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. As a result God’s word was now
true:
“But this is what was spoken by
the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to
pass in the last days, says God, That I
will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My
maidservants I will pour out My Spirit
in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome
day of the LORD. And it shall come to
pass That whoever calls on the name of
the LORD Shall be saved.’ Joel
2:16-21
Now all flesh can be saved, healed
and delivered and walk in the newness of life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
All men can prophesy, speak in tongues and be filled with the fullness of
God. The good news of the Cross-is that
the different victories that Jesus won there, and the resulting New Covenant
with all its rights and privileges, is now ours to be claimed and accepted by
faith. They will be true if we will only believe, accept, confess and act on it
and then allow the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead to change us.
Jesus won for us, on the Cross, such a victory with such power and might that it
made hell tremble and Heaven sing with joy as the Triumph of Victory resounded
from one part of Heaven to another. Our ears will tingle and our hearts will
sing, as the faithful and mighty Holy Spirit reveals this victory to
us.
The fact remains that Jesus Christ,
the author and finisher of our faith, is sitting at the right hand of the throne
of God, ready to use His power on behalf of the good of His true children; to
make them more than conquerors in all things that the world, the flesh and the
devil would throw at them. For His word is unchanging:
“And in that day you will ask Me
nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He
will give you. “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will
receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24
“These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
In the world lack of strength and
dependence on others is considered weakness, but in the kingdom of God
As a result of the victories Jesus
won on the cross we are now delivered from the hand of our enemies, and are able
to serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the
days of our life. Just like Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit stated about God and us:
“Blessed is the Lord God of
Israel, For He has visited and redeemed
His people, And has raised up a horn of
salvation for us In the house of His
servant David, As He spoke by the mouth
of His holy prophets, Who have been
since the world began, That we should be
saved from our enemies And from the hand
of all who hate us, To perform the mercy
promised to our fathers And to remember
His holy covenant, The oath which He
swore to our father Abraham: To grant us
that we, Being delivered from the hand
of our enemies, Might serve Him without
fear, In holiness and righteousness
before Him all the days of our life.
Luke 1:68-75
“I set My rainbow in the cloud,
and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis
9:13
“I have been crucified with
Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
It is true that Jesus came to earth
as a poor man and was born in a stable. But it’s also true after His death He,
as a rich man, was buried in a rich man’s tomb and upon His resurrection He sat
at the right hand of the Father. But the best truth is that after the Cross
Jesus literally is no longer poor, powerless or helpless in any sense because He
took back all that was literally His. All power, riches, and authority in heaven
in earth have been given back to Him.
As a result because of what Jesus
Christ had done on the cross God is now using all of His riches and resources
and power on our behalf, for the good of those who really trust and follow Him
and give Him their all. God’s true ones
don’t have to be poor anymore, in any sense of the word, in any area of their
lives: spiritual, emotional, physical and financial.
For through the cross of Christ God
has remembered His covenant with His people that we should be saved from our
enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to grant that we, being delivered
from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and
righteousness before Him all the days of our life. For the words of Jesus are
true for ever more:
“The Spirit of the LORD is
upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has
sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And
recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Luke
4:18
“These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Our God was not and could not be
defeated by the worst that demons, circumstances or people could do to Him. He
is an overcomer! As a result of Jesus’ real victories on the Cross, we don’t
need to be defeated by anything and we can be overcomers. Because by Faith we
are already overcomers, especially as we mix the Word of God with our faith and
not with unbelief.
Now God’s word has much to say about
overcomers:
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat
from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ‘
Revelations 2:7
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of
the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a
new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ‘ Revelations
2:17
“He who overcomes shall be clothed
in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I
will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelations
3:5
“He who overcomes, I will make him
a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write
on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem,
which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Revelations 3:12
“He who overcomes shall inherit
all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. Revelations
21:7
In Christ Jesus and because of the
power of the Holy Spirit all the riches and resources in heaven are now ours.
For God has made provision in Christ Jesus for His chosen and called ones to
overcome and be overcomers. As God gives
His All to those who give their All to Him; To those who sell everything to buy
the pearl of great price which is Jesus Christ.
Hence, a result of the finished work
at the Cross, God’s word is true:
‘Son, you are always with me, and
all that I have is yours. (Luke 15:31)
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold
refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be
clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your
eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
repent.
“Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and
dine with him, and he with Me. “To him
who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and
sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations
3:18-22
We need the power and the help of the
Holy Spirit to make the victories of the Cross and the riches of God’s word to
be a total reality in our hearts and lives. For the American Heritage Dictionary
defines sal·va·tion:
(s²l-v³“sh…n) n. 1.a. Preservation
or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil. b. A source, means, or
cause of such preservation or deliverance. 2. Theology. a. Deliverance from the
power or penalty of sin; redemption. b. The agent or means that brings about
such deliverance.
In Christ, we now have the
possibility of present and future salvation in our difficulties, troubles,
circumstances and needs. For God’s word is true:
“Now salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for
the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has
been cast down. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word
of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation
12:10-12)
“Say to those who are
fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” (Isaiah
35:4)
As a result of the victories of the
Cross and the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, we now have an exceeding
greatness of God’s power available towards us who believe. For the God’s word is
true:
that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of
your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints,
“What is the exceeding greatness
of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty
power which He worked in Christ when He
raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
And He put all things under
His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His
body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:17-23)
You and I are the real Church, and
not the building somewhere on a street, and we now have by faith the exceeding
greatness of His power towards us who believe, because of what the Father-God
did for Jesus at the Cross. Now Jesus is not poor anymore, we can talk, preach
and participate in “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8) He is our friend, brother, husband, wife,
provider, savior, Lord and the Source of our total supply.
We, as believers and disciples of
Jesus, can now add to our lives the exceeding greatness of His mighty power, the
exceeding riches of His grace and the exceeding abundance of His abilities to do
above all that we ask or think, according to that power now lives and works in
us, and to become literally filled with the fullness of God.
The question that we must ask
ourselves is what is the dimension of the fullness of God and his exceeding
power, riches and abundance? The answer is that it’s our limited by our faith
and what we believe! For God’s word is unchanging:
Then He said to Thomas, “Reach
your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it
into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” John 20:26
For what if some did not believe?
Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Romans
3:3
Abraham, the Father of the
children of faith, contrary to what it looked like, believed that what God had
promised, He was able to perform. Faith is of grace and not of works therefore
God’s honors faith. For Abraham
believed-God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things, which do not
exist as though they did. Contrary to hope, in hope he believed, so that he
became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your
descendants be.”
Not being weak in faith, Abraham did
not consider his own body, already dead nor and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, He
did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in
faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised
He was also able to perform. And
therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness. The bible records for our profit and
instruction:
Therefore it is of faith that it
might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed,
not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of
Abraham, who is the father of us all (as
it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of
Him whom he believed-God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things
which do not exist as though they did;
who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of
many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”
And not being weak in faith, he
did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years
old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was
strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to
perform. And therefore “it was accounted
to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:16-22
In the kingdom of God
"So I will restore to you the
years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming
locust, And the chewing locust, My great
army which I sent among you. You shall
eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who
has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of
Israel
Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
The American Heritage Dictionary
defines a miracle as:
mir·a·cle (m¹r“…-k…l) n. 1. An
event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be
supernatural in origin or an act of God. 2. One that excites admiring awe. 3. A
miracle play.
A miracle is something that God does
that man cannot do! The birth, life,
ministry, and resurrection of Jesus were and are a miracle. Jesus was born
miraculous of a virgin by God and was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and
with power, to go about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the
devil, for God was with Him. The bible records for our profit and instruction
about Jesus and Philip:
Then His fame went throughout all
Syria
"Men of Israel, hear these words:
Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs
which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know- Acts
2:22
Then Philip went down to the city
of Samaria
Christianity is a miracle religion of
signs and wonders just like Jesus and Apostle Philip demonstrated. Being born
again and filled with the Spirit of God takes a miracle for it’s something that
man cannot do but God will gladly do for those who trust in Him. For God’s word
is true:
There was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You
are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless
God is with him."
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of
God
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I
say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of
God
And it happened, while Apollos was
at Corinth Ephesus
And he said to them, "Into what
then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
Then Paul said, "John indeed
baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should
believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
When they heard this, they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and
they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
Now the men were about twelve in all. Acts 19:1-7
Now God worked unusual miracles by
the hands of Paul, so that even
handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases
left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Acts 19:11-12
Take miracles out of Christianity and
you have a dead religion that has a form of godliness but denies its power. But by faith God’s anointed ones can tap into
all the riches and resources of God which are theirs by Christ Jesus and get the
miracle that they need. For God’s word is true:
So it was, as the multitude
pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret
Then He got into one of the boats,
which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat
down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
When He had stopped speaking, He
said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a
catch."
But Simon answered and said to
Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your
word I will let down the net." And when
they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was
breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help
them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Luke
5:1-7
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today and forever and obedience to His words and commands give miracles to those
who obey Him and His spoken words. For
God’s word is unchanging:
Then Jesus was led up by the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted
forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him,
he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become
bread."
But He answered and said, "It is
written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.' "
Then the devil took Him up into
the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You
are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over
you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest
you dash your foot against a stone.' "
Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You
shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "
Again, the devil took Him up on an
exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and
their glory. And he said to Him, "All
these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
Then Jesus said to him, "Away with
you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him
only you shall serve.' "
Then the devil left Him, and
behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Matthew 4:1-11
Professing to be wise, they became
fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
corruptible man-and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among
themselves, who exchanged the truth of
God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans 1:22-25
The word of God teaches that there
are real consequences in the current time of life depending on whether we are
righteous, humble and wise or wicked, proud and foolish. As a result God gives
people who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their
hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, up to uncleanness, in the
lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. God’s word
warns us that He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy (Proverbs 29:1). Yes, God’s word is
unchanging:
Dishonest scales are an
abomination to the LORD, But a just
weight is His delight. When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide
them, But the perversity of the
unfaithful will destroy them. 11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of
wrath, But righteousness delivers from
death. The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own
wickedness. The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their
lust. Proverbs 11:1-6
Then I said to you, 'Do not
be terrified, or afraid of them. 'The
LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He
did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
'and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you,
as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this
place.'
"Yet, for all that, you did not
believe the LORD your God, "who went in the way before you to search out a place
for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by
night and in the cloud by day. Deuteronomy 1:29-33
All of God’s word and promises are
true including each verse and each line.
But the choice belongs to each person as to whether he will believe and
obey God or he will not! The children of Israel, who were miraculously delivered
by God from their Egyptian oppressors and saw God’s great judgment, signs and
wonders upon them including the miraculous parting of the Red Sea and the
destruction and drowning of their enemies in it, chose not to believe that God
would fight for them in the Promised Land according to all that He did for them
in Egypt before their eyes. As a result
they never went into the promised land but died in the wilderness of their own
choosing! These kinds of things do happen to men even in the current time of
life. They make wrong choices and choose to believe false men instead of God and
suffer the consequences of their foolishness. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"Beware of false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men
gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a
bad tree bear good fruit. "Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "Therefore by their fruits you will know
them.
"Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven.
"Many will say to Me in that day,
'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?'
"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you
who practice lawlessness!'
"Therefore whoever hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his
house on the rock: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the
rock.
"But everyone who hears these
sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his
house on the sand: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." Matthew
7:14-27
Sincerity and presumption are not a
guarantee of anything including salvation. You can be very sincere and
presumptive and drink a bottle labeled poison and die from it? So similarly
false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravenous wolves, deceive many of God’s people and they miss God’s best for their
lives. For God’s word is unchanging:
"Therefore take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to
shepherd the church of God
"So now, brethren, I commend you
to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you
an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or
apparel. "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my
necessities, and for those who were with me.
"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must
support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is
more blessed to give than to receive.' " Matthew 20:28-35
But even if we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let
him be accursed. As we have said before,
so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you
have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9
I charge you therefore before God
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His
appearing and His kingdom: Preach the
word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all
longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching
ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the
truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:1-4
Being born again and filled with the
fullness of God’s spirit, speaking in tongues, prophesying, laying hands on the
sick so that they will recover, and performing miracles is part of the Gospel
that Paul preached. To deny or reject these things to preach another gospel for
God’s word is unchanging:
Now concerning spiritual gifts,
brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles,
carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one
speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that
Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
There are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. There are
differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works
all in all. But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom
through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds
of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these
things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Corinthians
12:1-11
And God has appointed these in the
church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 1
Corinthians 12:28
To be ignorant of Spiritual gifts and
not to pursue them is against the word of God and the teaching of Apostle Paul
and is definitely the preaching of another gospel!
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but
especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak
to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks
mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks
edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies
the church. I wish you all spoke with
tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater
than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church
may receive edification. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5
If anyone thinks himself to be a
prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you
are the commandments of the Lord. But if
anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to
speak with tongues. Let all things be
done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:37-40
"Behold, I send you out as sheep
in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as
doves. "But beware of men, for they will
deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.
"You will be brought before governors and
kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. "But when they deliver you up, do not worry
about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour
what you should speak; "for it is not
you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in
you.
"Now brother will deliver up
brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against
parents and cause them to be put to death. "And you will be hated by all for My
name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew
10:16-22
Jesus Christ who knew the hearts of
men was not blind and stupid and was more than aware of what they would do. He knew and proved the fact that they would
praise Him one day and the next day murder Him.
He warned His disciples that they were sheep in the midst of wolves and
were to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But they were also to beware
of them who would hate them and murder them. It is interesting that Apostle
Peter when talking about the Jews who killed Jesus said
"The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree." Acts 5:30
Stephen the first martyr of the
church told the religious leaders who later stoned him:
"You stiffnecked and uncircumcised
in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do
you. "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed
those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the
betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels
and have not kept it."Acts 7:51-53
Both of these true men of God
called the religious leaders of their day
murderers. Stephen’s word were quite on the mark about them – “You
stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy
Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”
Apostle John writing about men
stated:
"And this is the condemnation,
that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil. "For everyone practicing evil hates the
light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. "But he who does the truth comes to the
light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
John 3:19-21
Evil men love darkness rather than
light because their deeds are evil. They do not come to the light lest their
deeds should be exposed. They try to put
out the light by murdering the messengers of God who tell the truth. This has not and will not change as long as
earth remains. Yet God’s word is
unchanging:
Then He spoke a parable to them,
that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge
who did not fear God nor regard man.
"Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get
justice for me from my adversary.' "And he would not for a while; but afterward
he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow troubles me I will
avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' "
Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust
judge said. "And shall God not avenge
His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with
them? "I tell you that He will avenge
them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find
faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-18
God has promised to avenge speedily
His own elect who cry out day and night to Him though He bears long with them
just like He did with the murderers of Jesus.
Now the religious leaders in their
jealousy and envy did not understand Jesus and hated Him for making people whole
especially on the Sabbath. They did not care for the sheep in their care but
only for their own self-preservation, which Jesus by His miracles threatened. So
they sought out any method to kill Jesus and finally succeeded. But in murdering Jesus they destroyed
themselves, their city and their nation. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"Serpents, brood of vipers! How
can you escape the condemnation of hell?
"Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of
them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your
synagogues and persecute from city to city,
"that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the
blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar.
"Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this
generation.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem
Many blame the devil for negative
things that happen in their lives but they would be amazed that God who has
created the destroyer to destroy was in the midst of all that had happened to
them. He measured to them the same measure that they measured to others. But
hypocrites, blind guides, serpents, brood of vipers, and lawless ones, even
though they are religious or political leaders will not escape the condemnation
of hell. Jesus’ murderers did not? What
happened to the wicked generation that Jesus talked about? Were the Jews blessed
by God or cursed by Him for murdering innocent Jesus? Down through the centuries His blood was on
them and their children and they paid for their foolishness many times
over! But God vindicated Jesus Christ by
raising Him from the dead and destroying His enemies, those who murdered Jesus,
just like Jesus warned them about:
But Jesus, turning to them, said,
"Daughters of Jerusalem
Now God’s judgment, even in the
current time of life, is never pleasant! Where is Sodom Gomorrah Dead
Sea in Israel Sodom Gomorrah
God’s judgment on men for their evil
and wicked deeds, including murdering innocent Jesus, is never pleasant, as
Flavius Josephus in writing about “The
Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70” testified:
Throughout the city people were
dying of hunger in large numbers, and enduring unspeakable sufferings. In every
house the merest hint of food sparked violence, and close relatives fell to
blows, snatching from one another the pitiful supports of life. No respect was
paid even to the dying; the ruffians [anti-Roman zealots] searched them, in case
they were concealing food somewhere in their clothes, or just pretending to be
near death. Gaping with hunger, like mad dogs, lawless gangs went staggering and
reeling through the streets, battering upon the doors like drunkards, and so
bewildered that they broke into the same house two or three times in an hour.
Need drove the starving to gnaw at anything. Refuse which even animals would
reject was collected and turned into food. In the end they were eating belts and
shoes, and the leather stripped off their shields. Tufts of withered grass were
devoured, and sold in little bundles for four drachmas. http://www.loyno.edu/~rspipes/chicken/seige.htm
There is a real price to be paid for
rejecting truth and doing injustice, even in the current time of life, as the
people of Jerusalem Jerusalem
Then in 70 AD Titus marched against
the city with four legions of the Roman army.
They laid siege to Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem
TITUS now promised that the
Temple Temple Temple Temple
The slaughter was continued while
the fire raged. Soon no part was left but a small portion of the outer
cloisters, where 6,000 people had taken refuge, led by a false prophet who had
there promised that God would deliver His people in His Temple. The soldiers set
the building on fire and all perished. Titus next spent eighteen days in
preparations for the attack on the upper city, which was then speedily captured.
And now the Romans were not disposed to display any mercy, night alone putting
an end to the carnage. During the whole of this siege of Jerusalem
Many
hedonistic religious ones who call themselves Christians pick and choose to read
and know only the nice parts of the bible. They do not want to hear about the
judgments of God or the fact that those who become the enemies of God, by their
own choices and actions, are not blessed by Him by rather are cursed and
destroyed by Him. Nevertheless God’s word is unchanging:
"A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. "By this all will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35
And now I plead with you, lady,
not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from
the beginning: that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to
His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the
beginning, you should walk in it. 2 John 1:5-6
Also He spoke this parable to some
who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
"The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all
that I possess.'
"And the tax collector, standing
afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
"I tell you, this man went down to
his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:9-14
Jesus Christ who spoke to men the
words that the Father had given Him promised “for everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted!”
Now many religious hedonistic ones
who want to know and hear only good things should open their ears to this
particular promise about what happens to those who trust in themselves that they
are righteous, and despise others. God is not blind nor foolish even though they
might be! He is still a great man of war and the judge of all the earth and He
renders to each one his or her due reward. And the rewards that God gives, as
many times the enemies of God’s people found out, are not always positive ones.
The bible records for our profit and instruction:
Then Moses and the children of
Israel Red Sea . The depths have
covered them; They sank to the bottom
like a stone.
"Your right hand, O LORD, has
become glorious in power; Your right
hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
And in the greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. Exodus
15:1-7
Most of us know the story of how God
delivered faithful and true Daniel from the den of lions? But how many of us
know the story of what happened to the enemies of Daniel who put him there in
the first place? The bible records for our profit and instruction:
Now when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open
toward Jerusalem
Then these men assembled and found Daniel
praying and making supplication before his God.
And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree:
"Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within
thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" The king
answered and said, "The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which does not alter."
So they answered and said before
the king, "That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah
And the king, when he heard these
words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to
deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver
him.
Then these men approached the
king, and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and
Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be
changed."
So the king gave the command, and
they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke,
saying to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver
you." Then a stone was brought and laid
on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and
with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be
changed.
Now the king went to his palace
and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his
sleep went from him. Then the king arose
very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out
with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Daniel,
servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able
to deliver you from the lions?"
Then Daniel said to the king, "O
king, live forever! "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that
they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O
king, I have done no wrong before you."
Then the king was exceedingly glad
for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel
was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he
believed in his God.
And the king gave the command, and they
brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of
lions-them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and
broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the
den.
Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples,
nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to
you. I make a decree that in every
dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For
He is the living God, And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the
end. He delivers and rescues, And He
works signs and wonders In heaven and on
earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the
power of the lions.
So this Daniel prospered in the
reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 6:10-28
Yes God worked a sign and a wonder
and He delivered Daniel from the power of the lions! But the same God also
worked another sign and wonder He caused the king to give a command and they
brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of
lions-them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and
broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the
den.
Jesus Christ, who is the same
yesterday, today and forever, is the Lion of Judah? But one thing you do not
want to do is to get a roaring Lion upset?
For the consequences of arousing a lion can be very costly and hazardous
to ones health. As God’s word is unchanging:
For if we sin willfully after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation
which will devour the adversaries.
Anyone who has rejected Moses' law
dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose,
will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the
blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted
the Spirit of grace?
For we know Him who said,
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will
judge His people." It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31
Now I saw heaven opened, and
behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness He judges and makes war.
His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He
had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood,
and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp
sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them
with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath
of Almighty God. And He has on His robe
and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Then I saw an angel standing in
the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the
midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, "that you may eat the flesh of kings, the
flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who
sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."
Revelations 19:11-18
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw
concerning Judah Jerusalem Zion Jerusalem
No matter what God’s children are
going through, God has promised for His trusting ones to make their latter days
better than their beginning. His word is true:
"Therefore prophesy concerning the
land of
Israel
"But you, O mountains of
Israel Israel Israel
"Yes, I will cause men to walk on
you, My people Israel
No, the fate of the righteous and the
unrighteous are not the same, even here on earth! For God’s word is
true:
"And the patriarchs, becoming
envious, sold Joseph into Egypt
"Now a famine and great trouble came over all
the land of
Egypt Canaan , and our fathers found no sustenance. Acts
7:9-11
Beloved, I pray that you may
prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and
testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my
children walk in truth. 3 John 1:2-4
While famine and great trouble had
come over all the land of Egypt Canaan , Joseph was immune from it. God had protected and
provided for Joseph and his family in
the midst of famine that had come upon the land. His word is true:
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on
those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from
death, And to keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 33:18-19
The LORD knows the days of the
upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Psalm 37:18-19
Yes, those who are upright and trust
in the Lord shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine
they shall be satisfied for God Himself is their provider, healer, and deliverer
and all that they need! His word is true:
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the
land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the
LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the
light, And your justice as the
noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait
patiently for Him; Do not fret because
of him who prospers in his way, Because
of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret-it only causes harm.
For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. Psalm
37:1-9
Yes, God is a good God who can be
trusted no matter what is going on in the world. He is not like the others. He is good,
faithful, true and compassionate! He is the salvation of the righteous and their strength in the time of trouble. He
shall help them and deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they
trust in Him. He desires and wills that His children have total and complete
victory in all the battles of life and be more than conquerors and overcomers.
He doesn’t want them to just get by but to live in victory and prosperity and
abundance. His wants to fight for them and to triumph gloriously on their behalf
against all their enemies. His word is unchanging:
Stir up Yourself, and awake to my
vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord.
Vindicate me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. Let them
not say in their hearts, "Ah, so we would have it!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him
up." Let them be ashamed and brought to
mutual confusion Who rejoice at my
hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and
dishonor Who exalt themselves against
me. Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His
servant.” And my tongue shall speak of
Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long. Psalm
35:23-28
God’s seasons are not at the command
of mortal men. Just because at the first
stroke of the flint does not bring forth the fire, doesn’t mean there will not
be a fire? God’s delays are not His
denials. For His trusting true ones God
always hears their prayers and will answer them in due season. Hence they have need of perseverance and
endurance for the miracle answer will come from the God of miracles. They need
not fear but are to let their hands be strong for God will save them and they
shall be a blessing. As God’s power and resources are unlimited and not
dependent on their limited power and resources. His word is
unchanging:
And He said to them, "Which of you
shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me
three loaves; 'for a friend of mine has
come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do
not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give to you'? "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to
him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and
give him as many as he needs.
"So I say to you, ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be opened. Luke
11:5-10
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God.
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
abounds through Christ.
Now if we are afflicted, it is for
your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same
sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your
consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know
that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the
consolation. For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble
which came to us in Asia : that we were burdened
beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had
the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in
God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does
deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 2 Corinthians 1:3-10
So he answered and said to me:
"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by
My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6
"Or what king, going to make war
against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able
with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? "Or
else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks
conditions of peace. Luke 14:31-32
The American Heritage dictionary
defines victory as:
Defeat of an enemy or opponent. 2. Success in
a struggle against difficulties or an obstacle. 3. The state of having
triumphed.
No matter what problem we are facing,
be it our sins, the wrongs that we have done, the injustices of others, and the
things that we have not done, victory is found in surrendering to the Holy
Spirit totally and completely and letting Him work unhindered, unrestricted and
unlimited in our hearts and lives. For Jesus said something that is still true
today:
"If you love Me, keep My
commandments. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
that He may abide with you forever- "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He
dwells with you and will be in you. "I will not leave you orphans; I will come
to you. "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will
see Me. Because I live, you will live also. John 14:15-19
Surrender to the same Holy Spirit
that was on Jesus and about whom was said of Him and others:
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest
upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and
might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in
the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor
decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the
poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the
earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay
the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the
belt of His waist. Isaiah 11:1-5
But it all starts with the first step
of recognizing we have a problem that we cannot solve nor deal with and
recognizing who is the solution and the answer to the problem - Not us but the
Holy Spirit! It requires an act just like another son did, a son who journeyed
to a far country, and wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he
had spent all he began to be in want. So he worked fields feeding swine and
wanted what they had. But God's word states:
"But when he came to himself, he
said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger! 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to
him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, "and I am no longer
worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' "And
he arose and came to his father.
But when he was still a great way
off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and
kissed him. "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and
in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
"But the father said to his
servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand
and sandals on his feet. 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us
eat and be merry; 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and
is found.' And they began to be merry. Luke 15:17-24
The answer was simple, he came to
himself and recognized his problem. He took action and went to his father and
stated he had sinned against heaven and in his sight and was no longer worthy to
be called his son. He humbled himself and asked forgiveness and was ready to
face the music.
What did he get for his deeds?
Compassion and a feast and they began to be merry. Well our Heavenly Father is
more than willing to forgive those who admit their sins, turn from them and ask
for his forgiveness and for the best that heaven has to offer them.
The problem is that the enemy has
deceived and blinded God's people of how
good God is to those of humble and contrite hearts. To those who say “I have
sinned and failed you but with your help and power I am willing to change and
make amends.” To such as these, heaven is wide open with blessings and riches of
God Himself that men have not ever seen yet.
Otherwise those who take their sins
and deeds lightly and continue in their way will find themselves facing a
furious king who will destroy them and their kingdom. Just like King Saul was
destroyed. It might take some time but it will happen.
It’s our choice we can return back to
our Heavenly Father and that wonderful Holy Spirit who alone can do all the
things that we cannot do or face the music? For this is the beginning of sorrows
for those who have too long pretended to be God's good shepherds. This is the
beginning of the exposure of these evil men. God is here in our midst, He will
move on our behalf in a spectacular way. We can not imagine what He has in store
for us if we surrender. The Healing and Victory He has in store for us is only
the beginning. We have to cling to Him as we would to our mother's side when we
were children. He is the breath of our life. He is the healing breath of our
soul. He is the healing change of our spirit.
Our road and walk with Him can be
full of His blessings and healing and changes. It can be truly marvelous and
spectacular. Then our good fortune will be the envy of others. But few will
desire it because they don't understand what it is to pay the price for it all.
But nevertheless it's our choices that determine the resulting consequences.
God is setting His people free. He is
delivering them from the bondage of wicked, corrupt men. He is moving, moving,
moving. He is the great Whirlwind and He is changing the very fabric of the
social landscape around them. He is changing it and placing Him mark upon it. It
will never be the same again. It is changing right before their very eyes. For
change comes with His Presence. God's true ones can watch and witness His great
changing Power on the land around them! It is marvelous to behold. The Nation
will never be the same again. All will see His great change upon the land and
the people! This is only the beginning!
For God’s word is unchanging:
'But now I will not treat the
remnant of this people as in the former days,' says the LORD of hosts. 'For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the
heavens shall give their dew- I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these.
And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the
nations, O house of Judah Israel
"Hear what the unjust judge saith.
And shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him, though
he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily." Luke 18:6-8
God desires and wills that His
children have total and complete victory
in all the battles of life and be more than conquerors and overcomers. He
doesn’t want them to just get by but to live in victory and prosperity and
abundance. His wants to fight for them and to triumph gloriously on their behalf
against all their enemies. His word is unchanging:
Stir up Yourself, and awake to my
vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord.
Vindicate me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. Let them
not say in their hearts, "Ah, so we would have it!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him
up." Let them be ashamed and brought to
mutual confusion Who rejoice at my
hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and
dishonor Who exalt themselves against
me. Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His
servant.” And my tongue shall speak of
Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long. Psalm
35:23-28
God’s seasons are not at the command
of mortal men. Just because at the first
stroke of the flint does not bring forth the fire, doesn’t mean there will not
be a fire? God’s delays are not His
denials. For His trusting true ones God always hears their prayers and will
answer them in due season. Hence they have need of perseverance and endurance
for the miracle answer will come from the God of miracles. They need not fear
but are to let their hands be strong for God will save them and they shall be a
blessing. As God’s power and resources are unlimited and not dependent on their
limited power and resources. His word is unchanging:
And He said to them, "Which of you
shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me
three loaves; 'for a friend of mine has
come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do
not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give to you'?
"I say to you, though he will not
rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he
will rise and give him as many as he needs.
"So I say to you, ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be opened. Luke
11:5-10
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God.
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
abounds through Christ.
Now if we are afflicted, it is for
your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same
sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your
consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know
that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the
consolation.
For we do not want you to be
ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia : that we were burdened beyond measure, above
strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death
in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the
dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we
trust that He will still deliver us, 2 Corinthians 1:3-10
We should hang on to FAITH,
regardless of the circumstance. Our Lord owns everything. There is not anything that is not His. If
Jesus did not defeat Satan what good came of His dying? We are to pray and
say:
Oh Holy God, we lift up the Words
You have given Your Prophet. We hold on to our Faith regardless of
circumstances. Oh Jesus, it is You that walks with us everyday. It is You that
gives us the power to say to the mountain, be gone in the Name of Jesus. You,
Jesus, are the Good Shepherd. You tend to Your sheep. You pick us up and brush
us off. You hold us gently in Your arms. Help us to remember Your love. Help us
to know that before we were born, all of our needs had been met through Your
Bloodstained Cross. We thank You for everything You have done for us.
Father God in the mighty name of
Jesus we ask that you to open the windows of Heaven on our family and pour out a
blessing that they can not contain as it is written. We rebuke the devourer in
this family, and command the devil to give back what he has stolen from their
finances, wealth and heath in Jesus name.
Yes, God has given unto us all things
that pertain unto life and godliness according to His divine power. As we meditate in the Word, faith comes. God's power arises to do exceeding abundantly
more than we can ask or think. It is
faith in the heart that works! As we
dwell upon and talk God' Word and see our need met by God's solution, the power
within us becomes activated. When that
power is released in words, "We have those things which we say."
Yes, God is able to make all grace
(every favor and earthly blessing) come to us in abundance so that we may always
and under all circumstances and whatever the need, be self-sufficient,
possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for
every good work and charitable donation. For God’s word is
unchanging:
But Jesus looked at them and said
to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:26
When Moses stretched out his hand
over the Red Sea and the Lord commanded the
waters to divide so that the children of Israel
Behold, I will do a new thing, Now
it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the
wilderness And rivers in the desert. The
beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give
waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people,
My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.
Isaiah 43: 19-21
Yes, God can make a way where there
is no way, He's a WAYMAKER!!! We serve a miraculous God that is able to create a
new thing to meet our need. He sees what we are going through and He wants to
help us. He is a God that promises He will take care of us. "He'll meet our
every need," not only in our finances, but in all areas of our life. But to make
sure our prayers aren't hindered, we must go before the Lord, repent of any sin
and release anyone we are holding unforgiveness towards. Through our faith in God's Word we will see
our every need and desire met! For God’s word is unchanging:
For this reason I bow my knees to
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and
earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in
love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length
and depth and height- to know the love
of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness
of God.
Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-20
As you have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been
taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the
basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily Colossians 2:6-9
Now the Spirit expressly says that
in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own
conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to
abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those
who believe and know the truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3
Jesus Christ alone is the way, the
truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by Him. But deceivement is
a real problem for many Christians because they go off tangents and worship a
truth or a man who brought them the truth. However, we are not to worship no one
or nothing but God, and God alone. As we
have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so we are to walk in Him, rooted
and built up in Him and established in the faith. We are not to allow anyone to
cheat us through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition and
ideas of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according
to Christ. For in Him alone dwells all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily and He has the answers to every problem that
we face!
Thomas Jefferson, third president of
the United
States
I never submitted the whole
system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in
philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for
myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.. –
Thomas Jefferson Letter To Francis Hopkinson, Paris Mar. 13, 1789
"Under the law of nature, all men
are born free, every one comes into the world with a right to his own person,
which includes the liberty of moving and using it at his own will. This is what
is called personal liberty, and is given him by the Author of nature, because
necessary for his own sustenance." --Thomas Jefferson: Legal Argument,
1770.
The harmony of life is based on One’s
understanding of who your Creator is. He is not a thing out there, He is a
Person and He has feelings. Your relationship with Him is not like any other
relationship you have experienced in this Universe. He is both sensitive and
rational. He is warm and tender, yet wise and full of judgment. He is both
caring and ready to do justice. He loves to be loving and compassionate, but if
He must, He will be judgmental and assertive.
He is all things to all men that some
may be won to His Kingdom, but He will not compromise His values and position to
avoid doing what is an unpleasant thing. He does not try to avoid the
unpleasant. If you arouse His anger enough He can become very angry. If you do
what is wrong, you will be punished, in this He is unflinching. He is the great
Creator and He will not be moved by men’s moods, attitudes or black-mail. He
will only be moved by faith and a deep trust in Him.
Yes, God does have His timing and His
choosing and His ways. He does not necessarily fit into people’s perception of
Him. They think He is only a God of love, mercy and grace but He is also a God
of judgment. He forgives but He also brings the consequences of people’s
behavior upon themselves. He even brings it upon their children to the third and
fourth generation.
Many think that He is a liberal God
but He is not a liberal. Some think He is a republican God but He is not a
republican. He is the LORD of this universe and what He says goes! Men can think as they please, they can do as
they please and they can go where they please. But if what they think and do,
does not please Him they have missed Him and the consequences of their actions
will be exacted from them. For He is a person of great price! He demands their
all! He demands their hearts! He demands their souls raised to Him! No, He
doesn’t ask little He asks all for He is the Great I AM!
Those who persist in doing things
their own way will eventually pay a terrible price for it. Though it may appear
that no price has been paid, looks can be deceiving. We as men, love to deceive
ourselves that all is well with us and wrong with everyone else while we betray
God and is calling for our lives. We forget that we have to have an intimate
relationship with Him that transcends all our desires, plans, purposes and goals
in life.
If our goals and plans are totally
submitted to Him, we can expect He will probably change them for the better if
we just trust Him. He is in a far better position to guide us into a deeper more
meaningful life than we could ever think up on our own. He is able to do what we
could never think out or dream of. He is able to deal with our out of control
inner man who only wants things for self. He is able to set our compass straight
and chart the right kind of course for our life. He is just the kind of God. He
loves us so much.
But, we must give Him a chance.
Not for a week or a year but for a lifetime. If we don’t we’re the losers and so
is He because He loves us so much He will lose the love He desired from us. Our
place in the Kingdom will be empty because only we can fill that place. His is
able to lead us to the special place just for us in the Kingdom but we have to
follow Him with great fidelity and respect. He is able, not because we say so in
words, but because in His own strength and power He is truly able to lead us out
of our Armageddon into the Promised Land! The choice is ours. Do we really want
Him at all costs, or do we want our own way and our own desires because without
Him we are not going to make it no matter what the world says.
The world is not making it without
Him despite how they act and what they say. They may appear to be very
successful in terms of worldly success but that has nothing to do with real
spiritual success. It doesn’t mean we should not try to be financially
accountable and successful in the world, but it should not be our priority. The
Lord should be our priority. As we lean on Him and do what He has called us to
do we will be both spiritually and carnally successful.
If we are not successful we
have to look to the Lord to show us why, so we can turn it over to Him to change
with the understanding we can’t change ourselves only He can. Our relationship
with Him is based on a mutual trust. We trust Him to change us, He trusts us to
remain faithful and true to Him. This cycle of success breeds more success until
we begin to see one victory after another in our life.
Then, this cycle of success breeds a
lifestyle of success until we are truly more than conquerors through Christ
Jesus and can now lead others into this right kind of lifestyle in Him. This is
true success! What more can you ask except to know you are in harmony with your
Lord and Savior and the world around you. There can be no greater satisfaction
than this. That we have helped others toward the right kind of life that will
bring them health and freedom to be themselves and in turn love those around
them. A world set free from sin and death there can be no better
victory!
Imagine a world walking in the
victory Jesus Christ provides. People free from emotional upheavals, depression,
despair and grief. People genuinely happy to see each other and love one another
helping one another when needed. Open to the Commandments God has given them to
follow. Doing it out of the gladness of their yielded hearts. Doing the will of
the Father with all of their soul and very being. Avoiding backbiting, gossip,
slander, evil speaking and all other forms of nasty qualities such as envy,
jealousy, cowardice, selfishness, anger, rage, strife, rejection, pride,
arrogance and many other such evil behavior. All of it is not of Him. He is the
author and finisher of our faith and we need to take all of our faults, flaws
and problems to Him and He will give the power to overcome because He is able.
How often we have come across carnal
Christians who have not given their sinful nature over to God and witnessed the
devastating results in churches and
para-organizations world over. We need Jesus. We need the Spirit of Jesus in
Christians today. We need to get on our knees and stop looking to our neighbor.
Yes, they have their problems but so do you. Look not on the speck in your
brother’s eye before you care for the beam in your own eye.
Take care of that beam first then
gently remove the speck in you brother’s eye. Gently, beloved! Not roughly,
cruelly or without regard for the destruction of your manner. Love is the rule.
We all respond to love even when we don’t appear to. We all need it. We’d rather
scrape and fight for it than admit we need it, so we scrape and fight and wonder
why no one loves us.
It’s because we are going about it
the wrong way. If we knew we were loved unconditionally we would yield if we’re
smart. If that is our true goal? If not, even our wrong motives will be revealed
and we will be exposed to God and man. No one gets away with their behavior and
wrong motivations!
God is no fool. He knows us
intimately. He loves us purely. He defends His own when they surrender and
become humble before Him and others. He is the greatest forgiver on this entire
planet. No one escapes His piercing glaze. It is we who must swallow our pride
and admit we are wrong! Ouch! That hurts! Wrong! Ouch!
But once the thorns are removed what
sweet relief. It’s even better if we can walk with Him in personal fellowship
and watch Him guide us through life with the wisdom from above. Those who chose
to follow us can do so. Those who chose not to, are equally free. But, I know
from personal experience that only those who humble themselves and yield to the
Heaven Father are the truly successful on this planet. The Lord marks a man’s
success by the purity and motives of His heart and He alone knows what’s in the
human heart! His word is
unchanging:
For though by this time you ought
to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the
oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone
who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a
babe. But solid food belongs to those
who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14
And we desire that each one of you
show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham,
because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely
blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he
obtained the promise. Hebrews 6:11-15
Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good
testimony. By faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen
were not made of things which are visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a
more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he
was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still
speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so
that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for
before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please
Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him.
By faith Noah, being divinely
warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the
saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:1-7
Faith, motivated by love, not logic
or reasoning, is what pleases God! Sincerity and presumption have nothing to do
with it. The children of Israel
"Now the Amalekites and the
Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness
by the Way of the Red Sea ." And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron,
saying, "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against
Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel
"Say to them, 'As I live,' says
the LORD, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 'The
carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness,
all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years
old and above. 'Except for Caleb the son
of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land
which I swore I would make you dwell in.
'But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in,
and they shall know the land which you have despised. 'But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in
this wilderness. 'And your sons shall be
shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity,
until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. 'According to the number of the days in which
you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one
year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
'I the LORD have spoken this; I will surely do
so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this
wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.' "
Now the men whom Moses sent to spy
out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by
bringing a bad report of the land, those
very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before
the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun and
Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the
land.
Then Moses told these words to all
the children of Israel
And Moses said, "Now why do you
transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. "Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your
enemies, for the LORD is not among you.
"For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you
shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD
will not be with you." But they presumed
to go up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of
the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp.
Then the Amalekites and the
Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove
them back as far as Hormah. Numbers 14:25-45
The children of Israel
The men whom Moses sent to spy
out the land, and brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague
before the LORD. While Joshua and Caleb
remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land. The children of
Israel
But the children of
Israel
The children of Israel
Nevertheless by faith Noah, being
divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark
for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir
of the righteousness which is according to faith. For God’s word is unchanging:
By faith the walls of Jericho
By faith the harlot Rahab did not
perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with
peace.
And what more shall I say? For the
time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of
David and Samuel and the prophets: who
through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped
the mouths of lions, quenched the
violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the
aliens. Women received their dead raised
to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they
might obtain a better resurrection.
Still others had trial of mockings
and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were
tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented- of whom the world was not
worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the
earth.
And all these, having obtained a
good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us,
that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Hebrews 11:30-40
But He gives more grace. Therefore
He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you. Draw near to God
and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your
hearts, you double-minded. Lament and
mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James
4:6-10
When the Good Lord was rebuking Job
for questioning His goodness and power He said to him:
Have you an arm like God? Or can
you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty and
splendor, and array yourself with glory
and beauty. Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him
low; Tread down the wicked in their
place. Hide them in the dust
together, Bind their faces in hidden
darkness. Then I will also confess to
you That your own right hand can save
you. Job 40:9-14
One of the great Characteristics of
God that is very evident in reading the bible is that He looks on everyone who
is proud, and humbles him. He looks on
everyone who is proud, and brings him low.
This is quite evident in book of Daniel chapter 3 when mighty king
Nebuchadnezzar's heart was lifted up,
and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and
they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart
was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed
him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he
knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it
whomever He chooses. As a result the king wrote:
Nebuchadnezzar the king, To all
peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied
to you. I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High
God has worked for me. Daniel 4:1-2
And at the end of the time I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me;
and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, And His kingdom is from
generation to generation. All the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of
heaven And among the inhabitants of the
earth. No one can restrain His hand Or
say to Him, "What have You done?"
At the same time my reason
returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned
to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom,
and excellent majesty was added to me.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and
extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways
justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. Daniel
4:34-37
Looking at the attitude and deeds of
religious and political leaders in America
"O king, the Most High God gave
Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because
of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled
and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he
kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put
down.
"But when his heart was lifted up,
and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and
they took his glory from him. "Then he was driven from the sons of men, his
heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They
fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till
he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it
whomever He chooses.
"But you his son, Belshazzar, have
not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. "And you have lifted
yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His
house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have
drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze
and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who
holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not
glorified.
"Then the fingers of the hand were
sent from Him, and this writing was written.
"And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
UPHARSIN. "This is the interpretation of
each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; "TEKEL: You have been weighed in the
balances, and found wanting; "PERES:
Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."
Then Belshazzar gave the command,
and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and
made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the
kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar, king
of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius
the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. Daniel 5:22-31
Yes, God lives forever but man is here today
and gone tomorrow. God’s dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. As King Nebuchadnezzar wisely
stated:
All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him,
"What have You done?" Daniel 4:35
There are many who think that by
defending the status quo they will have achieved God’s good will because after all has He not given
the words and interpretation to them and them alone. They think that they are
the only ones who have received the invincible truth of God and they are the
custodians of the interpretation of that truth.
If God had called only one people to
that knowledge then He would not have included the Gentiles. However, He did
include them and the rest of the world because He had given the truth to ALL who
would receive it. And, He had given them ALL the truth and not just part of it
as the many religious ones have. They
have only part of the truth and not ALL of it and in this they are arrogant and
smug assuming things they ought not to assume and presuming to throw out truer
Children of God than they are.
There are two sides to every coin and
the many religious ones have one side of it and are full of their own pride
because of it, having becoming Pharisees in their thinking and believing they
have made themselves of no value to the God whatsoever. They stare at one side
of the coin and vigorously shine it up and proudly present it to all who will
listen, in the meantime having missed the other side of the coin
completely.
It takes two sides to make up a
completed coin and in this case, the other side is the Power and Presence of the
Holy Spirit in human lives on earth. When Jesus resurrected from the dead and in
returned to the earth, briefly, in great Power and Glory He sent the Comforter,
or the Holy Spirit, to the Children of God in the upper room. They began to
manifest the Power of the Holy Spirit in speaking in other tongues, in
witnessing the manifestation of cloven tongues of fire resting on people and
they received boldness to speak the truth to men.
To deny the Power of the other side
of this coin is to deny the LORD of Hosts and His ability to change men. He has
His methods to bring healing and change to human kind and it is foolishness to
intellectual men-so be it! The knowledge of the Bible is one side of the coin
but the Word and Power of God is the other side of the coin and one cannot
really exist without the other and visa versa.
Both sides of the coin are necessary
in order to make a completed whole. The wholeness of man is very important to
the LORD and He desires men know all the truth about Him and His purposes for
men. He wants them to know to "Receive" all of His truth and not just the parts
they chose to receive. Unbelief is still unbelief. If you can't receive it, it
is because you don't believe it and the loss is yours. God doesn't need your
approval He desires your obedience to His methods and ways. Obedience is better
than sacrifice. His word is unchanging:
But Samuel said, "What then is
this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
And Saul said, "They have brought
them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the
oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly
destroyed."
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be
quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to
him, "Speak on."
So Samuel said, "When you were little in your
own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel Israel
And Saul said to Samuel, "But I
have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD
sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. "But the people took of the
plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly
destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of
rams. For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, And stubbornness is as
iniquity and idolatry. Because you have
rejected the word of the LORD, He also
has rejected you from being king." 1 Samuel 15:14-23
Samuel also said to Saul, "The
LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel Israel Egypt
So Saul gathered the people
together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten
thousand men of Judah Amalek
Then Saul said to the Kenites,
"Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them.
For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel Egypt
And Saul attacked the Amalekites,
from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt
But Saul and the people spared
Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that
was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised
and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. 1 Samuel 15:1-9
Frank Sinatra had a popular hit song
titled “My Way.” He must have been thinking of king Saul when he sang the words
“I did it my way!”. But King Saul was a total failure as far as God was
concerned. Sure King Saul had the praise
and gratitude of men but not of God because he failed to heed the voice of the
words of the LORD to “go and attack
Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill
both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”
As a result of his foolishness, Saul not only lost his kingdom but his life
was cut short by God. Saul never made it
into the Faith’s hall of fame for his disobedience and his claim to fame
was:
So Saul died for his
unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep
the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore
He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13 -14
We see from the word of God
that it’s possible to obey God in part and do things “my way” rather than God’s
way and be rejected by God for rejecting “His way?” How many people will find themselves when
standing before God after life is over in a place they never expected to be
because they had done things their way rather than God’s way.
Now Jesus Christ who is our example never did things
His way. As a matter of fact God’s word records for our profit and
instruction:
"Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. Matthew 7:21
Then one said to Him, "Look, Your
mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with
You."
But He answered and said to the
one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" And He stretched out His hand toward His
disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! "For whoever does the will of My Father in
heaven is My brother and sister and mother." Matthew 12:47-50
Jesus said to them, "My food is to
do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. John 4:34
"I can of Myself do nothing. As I
hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will
but the will of the Father who sent Me. John 5:30
"For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38
For Jesus and for all the true
brothers and sisters of Jesus, the primary importance in life is doing the will
of the Father and not their own will! Mind you the world, flesh and devil do not
like doing God’s will but rather their own will. But God’s word is
unchanging:
Do not love the world or the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust
of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Little children, it is the last hour; and as
you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they
were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us;
but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of
us.
But you have an anointing from the
Holy One, and you know all things. 1 John 2:15-20
Those who are off the world do what
the world does and those who are off God do what God wants them to do! Here is the difference between those who are
truly born of the Spirit and those who think they are. Those who are born of the
Spirit desire and chase after God’s will while the others do not! The worldly or
carnal ones fail to understand that:
Where do wars and fights come from
among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your
members? You lust and do not have. You
murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have
because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that
you may spend it on your pleasures.
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do
you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever
therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do
you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns
jealously"?
But He gives more grace. Therefore
He says: "God resists the proud, But
gives grace to the humble." James 4:1-6
Likewise you younger people,
submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another,
and be clothed with humility, for "God
resists the proud, But gives grace to
the humble."
Therefore humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares
for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are
experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
But may the God of all grace, who
called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 1 Peter 5:5-10
These are wells without water,
clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
forever. For when they speak great
swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through
lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While
they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom
a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the
pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse
for them than the beginning. For it
would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than
having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has
happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own
vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." 2 Peter
2:17-22
Unlike men, the word of God always
tells the truth, including the fact that for those who have escaped the pollutions of the world
through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are again entangled in them and
overcome, their latter end is worse for them than the beginning. Yes, for those
who like Judas, betrayed the Lord, it would have been better for them not to
have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered to them. Yet God’s word is unchanging:
And when He had called His twelve
disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and
to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
Now the names of the twelve
apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother;
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the
son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who
also betrayed Him. Matthew 10:1-4
Even though Judas was a disciple of
Jesus and later became an apostle, he still betrayed Jesus. He was a thief who had the money box; and he
used to take what was put in it. So it was easy for him to betray Jesus for
thirty pieces of silver. The bible
records:
"The Son of Man indeed goes just
as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." Matthew
26:24
Jesus answered them, "Did I not
choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon,
for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. John
6:70-71
So it possible to be a disciples of
Jesus, an apostle and a devil? After all apostles are only human beings,
disciples of Jesus, who have been given power over unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. For God’s word
is unchanging:
Then Philip went down to the city
of Samaria
Then all the multitude kept
silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders
God had worked through them among the Gentiles. Acts 15:12
Truly the signs of an apostle were
accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty
deeds. For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that
I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong! 2 Corinthians
12:12
The signs of an apostle were that he
demonstrated the power of God in signs and wonders and mighty deeds? But there
are those who deny that apostles and prophets exist today because they are
false. For God’s word is unchanging:
For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 2
Corinthians 11:13
But there were also false prophets
among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will
secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them,
and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their
destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with
deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their
destruction does not slumber. 2 Peter
2:1-3
The existence of false apostles,
false prophets, and false teachers, doesn’t invalidate true apostles, true
prophets and true teachers? But the word of God does warn that many will follow
their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be
blasphemed. By covetousness they will
exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been
idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
For God’s word is true though every man be a liar:
But I want to remind you,
though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the
land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5
The King of Kings and LORD of Lords,
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, by an angel told his servant
Apostle John, who was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ, to write what he saw in the Spirit to the
seven churches that were in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to
Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
To the angel of each of the churches John gave a specific word from the
LORD including to the church of Ephesus
These things says He who holds the
seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden
lampstands: "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot
bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and
are not, and have found them liars; "and you have persevered and have patience,
and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. "Nevertheless I
have this against you, that you have left your first love.
"Remember therefore from where you
have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly
and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent. "But this you have, that you hate the deeds
of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." ' Revelations
2:1-8
History tells us that each of the
churches did not receive the word from the LORD that John had given to each
church including "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.” And as a result they ceased to exist. The city of Ephesus
Now men have made Jesus Christ to be
a warm ball of wool who would never hurt or really judge anybody in the current
time of life. But nothing is further from the truth for John wrote to an
existing church in Thyatira and talked about how God will kill people and all
the churches shall know that Jesus Christ is the One who searches the minds and
hearts. And He “will give to each one of you according to your works.” The bible
records for our profit and instruction:
"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira
write, ' These things says the Son of
God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: "I know your works, love, service, faith, and
your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the
first.
"Nevertheless I have a few things
against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a
prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat
things sacrificed to idols. "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual
immorality, and she did not repent. "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and
those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of
their deeds. "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall
know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one
of you according to your works.
"Now to you I say, and to the rest
in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths
of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. "But hold fast what you have till I come.
"And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give
power over the nations- 'He shall rule
them with a rod of iron; They shall be
dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'-
as I also have received from My Father;
"and I will give him the morning star.
"He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches." ' Revelations 2:18-29
Many religious ones, who call
themselves Christians, choose to be pacifists because they do not believe in
killing. Yet “I will kill her children with death” are words that come out often
out of the mouth of God, especially when people are given time to repent and do
not repent. It is not only a New
Testament message but an Old Testament one also. It was a message that was
preached by prophet Jonah against his will. The bible records:
Now the word of the LORD came to
Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise,
go to Nineveh Nineveh Nineveh Nineveh
Many of God’s people don’t like to
think of the truth that one of God’s attributes or characteristics are that He
is not only a “Man of War” and the “Judge of all the earth” but He kills people,
especially His adversaries, even if they are His people. For God’s word is true though every man be a
liar:
"The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts
the beggar from the ash heap, To set
them among princes And make them inherit
the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
"For by strength no man shall
prevail. The adversaries of the LORD
shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to His king, And
exalt the horn of His anointed." 1 Samuel 2:6-10
"Then I said to you, 'Do not be
terrified, or afraid of them. 'The LORD
your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did
for you in Egypt before your eyes, 'and
in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man
carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.'
"Yet, for all that, you did
not believe the LORD your God, "who went in the way before you to search out a
place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the
fire by night and in the cloud by day.
"And the LORD heard the sound of
your words, and was angry, and took an oath, saying, 'Surely not one of these
men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to
your fathers, 'except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him
and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly
followed the LORD.' Deuteronomy 1:29-36
The promises of God are true for
those who believe God and obey His voice and not for unbelievers, even if they
are God’s people. Out of all those who were miraculously delivered from
Egypt Israel
Men can say and believe whatever they
want but God is not fooled by them. He knows those who truly believe Him and
those who do not. As a result He rewards each man accordingly and many will find
themselves in places they never expected to be. Just as Jesus promised some
servants will be cut in two and their portion appointed with the
unbelievers. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"Blessed are those servants
whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that
he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve
them. "And if he should come in the
second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those
servants.
"But know this, that if the master
of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and
not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the
Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do
You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"
And the Lord said, "Who then is
that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his
household, to give them their portion of food in due season? "Blessed is that servant whom his master will
find so doing when he comes. "Truly, I
say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
"But if that servant says in his
heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and
female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, "the master of that servant will come on a
day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and
will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
"And that servant who knew his master's will,
and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes. "But he who did not know,
yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For
everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much
has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:37-48
Where is man going that he can do it
himself. He walks ever so proudly in his great accomplishments and
understanding. He is certain he is doing the Lord's perfect will for his life
but his life is based on his own bias and inhibitions. This is the dilemma. Can
man truly please God? Can he surrender so totally that he can be perfect before
him? Was Joseph perfect? It says he was tested and then placed in Pharaoh's
employ above everyone else in the land because he was faithful to the Lord and
did what was right. It does not say he ever murmured or complained. He walked
faithfully until the Lord promoted him.
We walk in the light we are given. If
our teachers taught us many half-truths we walk in those half-truths and they
have become apart of our life. We believe they are totally true and praise our
teachers for a job well done. Yet,if we look at the facts. Our teachers have
really failed us because the fruit of what they have taught us speaks louder
than the words we have heard.
Teaching is something that must bring
us to the real person of Jesus. We must be lead and released into the Power of
the Lord in our lives through the Presence of the Holy Spirit. We must
ultimately end up being independent Christians able to hear the Voice of our God
and be individually directed by Him in our lives. Our relationship with Jesus
must be fluid and based on the truths in the Bible. We must have our integrity
and common sense in tack plus our spiritual radar fully functional. Then we may
actually become useful to the Master, but this only happens as we are properly
taught, adequately feed and remain open to the instructions of the Holy Spirit
within us. We must learn both our collective responsibly to the entire body of
Christ and our responsibility to ourselves to mature and grow that we may be
useful to our Lord and the community at large. We must not give up our
intelligence to our leaders or teachers. If they are allowed to control us they
have become our master and not the Lord. We must be wise in recognizing when we
are being manipulated and held captive by those who are our mentors. They may
lead us to the Lord but they may not live our lives for us. Only we can do that
before Him. Anything else leads to worship of the wrong source.
The primary Source of our lives, goes
without saying, is the Lord Himself and His Holy Spirit within us. He gave us
the Comforter when He was resurrected by the Heavenly Father. He left apart of
Himself on the earth in the Holy Spirit. With this new spiritual development,
had come our responsibility to walk faithfully before the Lord, informed of the
real truth, and full of His Power through the indwelling Presence of Himself in
us.
The short of it is, we are
responsible for what we learn and the direction our lives takes because we have
the Holy Spirit of promise living in us. His powerful presence in our lives
means we don't have to be deceived by what the world is teaching, by what our
Christians leaders and evangelists are teaching or by what our minds are saying.
We have a source of truth within us. We have direct contact with the Lord of
Heaven in us. It is up to us to establish communication with the Holy Spirit on
a regular basis in daily living in order to maintain our spiritual integrity and
walk with the Lord of Hosts. If we allow our minds to stray too far or our
bodies to do things outside of Biblical truths we have no one to blame but
ourselves. If we cover our sin or do it in secret and think God won't expose us
we are much mistaken.
God is the inventor of integrity and
He exposes every secret evil. Everything will be exposed and judged. It may be
surprising to note that the consequences may very well happen on earth during
our lifetime. God is not blind and He loves justice and integrity. He will not
stand for evil having the upper hand. There is a day of reckoning.
One of the false teachings is that
God will judge only in the hereafter. This is not true. God also judges in the
current time of life. He will expose evil. He will expose false teachings. He
will do justice right now. He hates certain evil people. This is another false
teaching that is floating around. That God loves evil people. God created and
loves His creation but if they do evil continually He does not necessarily
continue to love them. The Bible says Jacob He loved and Esau He hated. Does
that sound He is always loving? I don't think so.
Therefore, we must be discerning. We
must be wise. We must be full of Heavenly understanding. We must be discreet. We
must be full of the Holy Spirit to discern where God really stands on an issue
or a circumstance. We must not assume anything about God. He is very fluid in
all of His judgment calls and decisions. He cannot be held to any hard fast
rules of judgment. We are not in the position to say when He will judge, or how
severely He will judge it and so on.
This is strictly His decision but it
is based on the person's reaction when they are exposed. If they react that they
have done nothing wrong and refuse to change, then they are probably headed for
severe exposure and judgment. If they are pliable and teachable when rebuked
they will probably receive the degree of judgment or mercy based on the degree
of their repentance. If they totally turn from their evil, make restitution, and
return to their God then they will probably be forgiven.
As you can imagine, men's lives are
very complicated and God's decisions towards men are equally complicated.
Therefore, no hard fast rule of judgment or decision making on God's part can be
applied to every circumstance of man. He judges us as individuals and based on
the condition of our heart before Him. If we are truly evil He will treat us as
such. If we are His but have fallen into sin He will treat us based on our
repentance and behavior after we have repented. He is not fooled even though we
may choose to deceive ourselves.
King Saul, was chosen by God to serve
as leader for the Israelites at that time. Yet, when God relied on Him to follow
His orders concerning other nations or division of labor, Saul fell down
miserable. So much so, that God repented of making Him king and appointed
someone else, namely David. How is it that God could not forgive Saul of his
sin? Saul thought sure he was pleasing God. So first, he was self-deceived into
believing he was doing God's will but he did not do it totally and he felt this
was still acceptable to God. But, God did not think so. He wanted total
obedience from Saul because God does nothing without a purpose behind it and He
knew the importance of Saul's total obedience to Him. So God gave Saul a chance
to be king but Saul fell down miserably and peppered God's commands to him with
his own logic. This simply doesn't work with God.
God doesn't want our logic mixed up
in His commands to us. If He has commanded it, it is because there is a real
danger awaiting us on the other side if we don't obey. So, He knows what awaits
us if we disobey Him. Yet, somehow, in our logic, we think we can out think God.
We know better than He does. This is self-deceivment. We deceive ourselves that
our logic can produce good. It cannot. Only our utter obedience to God's voice
and commandments will bring about good in our lives and in those around
us.
Can we learn from Saul? Can we
walk in the wisdom of the Lord and the direction of the Holy Spirit? If it were
not possible than why does God expect it of us? It is because it is very
possible that we are called into His service in obedience and love. We fall
short because of our disobedience. But God is faithful, He provide a means to
get up and go on. He wants us to repent of our sin and return to Him confident
of His forgiveness and mercy. He is willing to overlook our sin if we return to
doing exactly what He says and not what we think He is saying. Not everyone who
calls Jesus Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom, but they who do the Father's
will! Let the Lord be your guide into all truth and submit every thought and
every teaching to His scrutiny. He will expose all the impurities in your life
and make you one with Him.
"Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither
can you, unless you abide in Me.
"If anyone does not abide in Me,
he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them
into the fire, and they are burned.
"If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. "By
this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My
disciples. John 15:4-8
Jesus Christ who doesn’t lie clearly
taught that there were real benefits to abiding in Him and His words abiding in
His disciples. Those who abide in Him could ask whatever they desire and it
shall be done for them! But Jesus Christ also taught that there were serious
negative consequences for those who did not abide in him. They would be cast out
as a branch that is withered which men gather and throw into the fire to be
burned. So those who have made the Lord
to be their Source of total supply and allow His words to abide in them, can
prosper, bear much fruit and see their prayers answered. While the others for
whom Jesus Christ is not Lord and their Source of total supply must examine and
change their ways or they will not prosper, nor bear fruit nor see their prayers
answered. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"You have heard that it was said
to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of
the judgment.' "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother,
'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall
be in danger of hell fire.
"Therefore if you bring your gift
to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
"leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to
your brother, and then come and offer your gift. "Agree with your adversary
quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to
the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into
prison. "Assuredly, I say to you, you
will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. Matthew
5:21-26
"Again I say to you that if two of
you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them
by My Father in heaven. Matthew 18:19
Not agreeing with God or others could
have serious negative consequences. Agreeing with God and others could have very
positive blessings. Great peace and great good come to those who are in full
agreement and submission to God in every area of their life, including the
financial area. Agreeing with God is simply agreeing with His Word made real by
His Spirit. But true prosperity comes
from agreeing with all parts of the Word and not just some particular passages
of the word. Yet God’s word is
unchanging:
No one is so fierce that he would
dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? Who has preceded Me, that I should pay
him? Everything under heaven is
Mine. Job 41:10-11
Can two walk together, unless they
are agreed? Amos 3:3
"And he said to him, 'Son, you are
always with me, and all that I have is yours. Luke 15:31
Everything under heaven including
silver, gold, glory, victory and honor belongs to God and all that belongs to
Him belongs to His sons and daughters.
But in the kingdom of God
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek
justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together," Says
the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as
snow; Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be
devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of
the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 1:17-20
"Give, and it will be given to
you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put
into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured
back to you." Luke 6:38
Those who are willing and obedient
shall eat the good of the land. While those who refuse and rebel shall be
devoured by the sword. The measure that
men measure to God will be the measure
measured back to them. Yet God’s word is unchanging:
"Listen to Me, you who follow
after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were
hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and
increased him." For the LORD will
comfort Zion, He will comfort all her
waste places; He will make her
wilderness like Eden, And her desert
like the garden of the LORD; Joy and
gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah
51:1-3
God who blessed and made Abraham rich
and great is able to do the same for each one of His children. But it’s God’s
people not God who determine whether they will be blessed or not by abiding in
Christ and allowing all of His words to abide in them. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently
obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments
which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all
nations of the earth. "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake
you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: "Blessed shall you be in the city, and
blessed shall you be in the country. "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body,
the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your
cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
"Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and
blessed shall you be when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:1-6
God wants His people to be
victorious, rich and wealth. He wants them
to be the head, not tail. He wants them to be above only, not beneath in
everything. He wants them to have the
faith to cast out demons, heal the sick, and be a blessing to others. He wants them to live and walk in love. For
God is love! Jesus is love. And He is
the Author and Developer of their faith. Love is the Author and Developer of
their faith! Love is the dominating
force behind all aspects and operations of faith. Love develops faith and makes
it work at its highest level. Love, as well as faith, is of the heart, not of
the head. For God’s word is true:
"The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Therefore, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith
into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And
not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation
produces perseverance; and perseverance,
character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who
was given to us. Romans 5:1-5
But what does it say? "The word is
near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we
preach): that if you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. For with the
heart one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on
Him will not be put to shame." Romans 10:10
God is a limitless God, and His
provision is limitless. His grace and mercy are limitless for those who will
receive of them. But it’s God power that works in His people and His word that
abides in them that determines the abundance of God’s prosperity and goodness
that will be manifested in their lives in the current time of life. Each person
by his or her reactions to God’s power and word determines whether he or she
will live in the abundance that God is able to provide. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"And you shall remember the LORD
your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish
His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy
8:18
"Therefore hear the parable of the
sower: "When anyone hears the word of
the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches
away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the
wayside.
"But he who received the seed on
stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with
joy; "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when
tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he
stumbles.
"Now he who received seed among
the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
"But he who received seed on the
good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit
and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Matthew 13:18-23
I wait for the LORD, my soul
waits, And in His word I do hope. Psalm 130:5
He makes peace in your borders,
And fills you with the finest wheat. He sends out His command to the earth; His
word runs very swiftly. Psalm 147:14-15
The Word and Jesus Christ are one and
the same. He cannot lie and the Word cannot lie! So what God has promised in His
written word He will fulfill. As a result for some He will bring deliverance and
for others He will bring destruction. For God’s word is unchanging:
Oh, that men would give thanks to
the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of
men! For He has broken the gates of
bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.
Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities,
were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all
manner of food, And they drew near to
the gates of death. Then they cried out
to the LORD in their trouble, And He
saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And
delivered them from their destructions. Psalm 107:15-20
Woe to those who go down to Egypt
for help, And rely on horses, Who trust
in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
Nor seek the LORD! Yet He also is
wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of
evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity. Now the Egyptians
are men, and not God; And their horses
are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, Both he who
helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish
together. Isaiah 31:1-3
The LORD has promised great wealth
and prosperity for those who fear and trust in Him. His word is true:
Who is the man that fears the
LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He
chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is
with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. Psalm
25:12-14
I love those who love me, And
those who seek me diligently will find me.
Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than
choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, That I may cause those who love me to inherit
wealth, That I may fill their
treasuries. Proverbs 8:17-21
He who is of a proud heart stirs
up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. Proverbs
28:25
But those who are proud cannot expect
prosperity but rather demise and punishment. For God’s word is
unchanging:
The LORD will destroy the house of
the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow. Proverbs
15:25
Everyone proud in heart is an
abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
Proverbs 16:5
A haughty look, a proud heart, And
the plowing of the wicked are sin. Proverbs 21:4
There is no virtue in being proud!
Jesus Christ is the deliverer of many men's souls for without Him men can do nothing of any importance or value.
Yes, He has given many giftings to men.
They can swim expertly, drive trucks, build towering buildings and so on but
they have missed the point. If what they have done is not unto God it has no
value in the Kingdom of Heaven
Man glorifies himself and walks about
with great pride admiring his accomplishments and God looks upon him and his
accomplishments with disdain. He is not pleased at what He sees that men are
accomplishing because it is not in Christ or unto Christ. This displeases
God and He refuses to bless such
accomplishments. If the world is still functioning it is because of God’s grace
more than any pleasure that He may derive from man's accomplishments.
Is there such a thing as freedom
without consequences or freedom without reactions. Can men say, I am free to do
as I like? No, men can't really say that but they make themselves believe and
receive that and it brings them into greater separation from God. So, why do men
do what they do? Can they really expect no consequences for their actions or
words? No, they can expect a reaction but not from where they expected. It will
come from Heaven and do the work of bringing justice to a wrong or an untruth.
Heaven is not oblivious to what is going on, on earth. The Lord, knows and sees
all things and will reward every deed good, bad or indifferent. He is not to be
mocked what a man sows he also reaps.
When we operate under His anointing
He directs us and uses us for His glory and brings glory even to ourselves but
when we operate in our flesh, which is more than likely, we reap the rewards of
the flesh, which is burnt up in the fire of the Holy Spirit. Can men say, they
are free? No, because true freedom is a life yoked in proper service to the Lord
of Hosts. He only can bring us into true freedom. But, true freedom has a price.
The price is giving up our selfish will and following His leading and guidance
by the voice of the Holy Spirit within us. This is called being "born again."
Not what many religious believe, that being born again is saying you accept
Jesus. This is only the first step in a life consecrated in an intimate walk
with the Lord that produces the right kind of fruit. Real fruit is fruit
produced in us by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It is nothing we
can produce in ourselves, yet many try and will wonder why their "hard work"
will be burnt up as so much wood, stubble and hay. God only is the producer of
everything of good within us, something many of us find hard to accept. Somehow,
we were "taught" that if we did it right we would be spiritual. But, true
spirituality is simple surrender and desire to serve only Him-the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
We have failed to see what was right
before our eyes-that there is nothing good we could offer Him within us. Even
the lowest whore is equal to us. Our pride has defiled us already. We are
corrupt, unclean and of no value as we are, even when we think we are doing His
will. Our outward traditions and forms are empty clay vessels. There emptiness
is proven by the fruit in our lives. Little love. Little comfort. A lot of empty fellowshipping, and no miracles
of any lasting value. Yet, when we touch the Lord of lords and King of kings and
surrender our pride, traditions and desires to Him, He quickens our life and
makes us what we ought to be. Now, we are serviceable and useable. Now, we are
ready to do His will and not ours. He can move in our lives and make the Word
and doing of it possible with much tender fruit coming from us. This is true
service and a true intimate relationship with Him. Above all we must not deny
what is written on paper in the Word of God before us. We must seek His way and
not ours. For God’s word is
unchanging:
Do not be deceived, my beloved
brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down
from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:16-17
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let
him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking
in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not
descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and
self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
But the wisdom that is from above
is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18
"I have made a covenant with my
eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? For what is the allotment of God from
above, And the inheritance of the
Almighty from on high? Is it not
destruction for the wicked, And disaster
for the workers of iniquity? Job 31:1-3
It’s very foolish for men to speak on
behalf of God. Primarily because most people, including sincere religious ones,
do not know really know Him. A prominent
columnist in writing about the judgment of God stated:
Abraham Lincoln said that the
Civil War came because of slavery and because America Soviet Union for seven decades because his
people had “forgotten God.”
…While God allows bad things to
happen, it is His nature to do only good and to bring good out of evil. How do I
know this? Was I “in on the meetings”? No. Psalm 5:4 says, “You are not a God
who takes pleasure in evil…” Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his
brothers — yet became Pharaoh’s right-hand man and supplier of grain to the
starving — said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good
to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 45)
When columnists become theologians
then we are really in trouble! The statement “it is his nature to do only good
and to bring good out of evil” is false because we know from the book of Job
that the devil could not bring evil upon Job without God’s permission. Although
it was the devil who brought evil upon Job, it was God who allowed it to happen.
The bible records for our profit and instruction:
There was a man in the land of Uz
And his sons would go and feast in their
houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters
to eat and drink with them.
So it was, when the days of
feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he
would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the
number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed
God in their hearts." Thus Job did regularly.
Now there was a day when the sons
of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among
them. And the LORD said to Satan, "From
where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro
on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have
you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a
blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
So Satan answered the LORD and
said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
"Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around
all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his
possessions have increased in the land.
"But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will
surely curse You to Your face!"
And the LORD said to Satan,
"Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his
person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:1-12
Although Job was blameless and
upright, and feared God and shunned evil, God for His glory and honor allowed
the devil to remove from Job all that he had including his sons and daughters
and to inflict Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of
his head.. But Job held fast to his integrity no matter what evil he had to
endure from God. The bible records
So Satan went out from the
presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his
foot to the crown of his head. And he
took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the
midst of the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, "Do you
still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
But he said to her, "You speak as
one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall
we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job
2:7-10
God can do and will do with man
whatever He wants for after all He is God who has created and sustains all
things including the spoiler to destroy.
For God’s word is unchanging:
"O you afflicted one, Tossed with
tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal, And all your
walls of precious stones. All your
children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your
children.
In righteousness you shall be
established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near
you. Indeed they shall surely assemble,
but not because of Me. Whoever assembles
against you shall fall for your sake."Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings
forth an instrument for his work; And I
have created the spoiler to destroy. No
weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against
you in judgment You shall condemn. This
is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,"
Says the LORD. Isaiah 54:11-17
"When I shut up heaven and there
is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among
My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles
7:13-14
According to the bible, the word of
God, God is in charge of all things on earth including good and evil. So
ultimately it all comes from Him including adversity and evil and pestilence.
Everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with
salt. For God’s word is unchanging:
Now great multitudes went with
Him. And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate
his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own
life also, he cannot be My disciple.
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My
disciple.
"For which of you, intending to
build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough
to finish it- "lest, after he has laid
the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
"saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
"Or what king, going to make war
against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able
with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? "Or else, while the other is still a great
way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake
all that he has cannot be My disciple.
"Salt is good; but if the salt has
lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
"It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it
out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Luke 14:25-35
The storms and adversities of life
will separate the men from the boys. It will separate those who love God for
only what He provides and those who love Him for Himself. Job lost everything but He did not curse God
and held to his integrity. So similarly
all will be tested by God to see if their faith is real or if they are
hypocrites. For God’s word is
unchanging:
For what is the hope of the
hypocrite, Though he may gain much, If
God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry
When trouble comes upon him? Will he delight himself in the
Almighty? Will he always call on God?
"I will teach you about the hand
of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal. Surely all of you have seen it; Why then do you behave with complete
nonsense? "This is the portion of a
wicked man with God, And the heritage of
oppressors, received from the Almighty:
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with
bread. Those who survive him shall be
buried in death, And their widows shall
not weep, Job 27:8-15
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in
heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various
trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold
that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet
believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the
end of your faith-the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9
"The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Most con artists are very pleasant,
kind and amiable people or they would not be con artists? Similarly one of the
great ploys of the devil is to pretend that he doesn’t exist and to blame
negative things on natural elements, hereditary things or other people. But the
word of God clearly states that our adversary walks about like a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour. He has come to steal and to kill and to destroy and
he doesn’t have the best interest of his victims. He is a murderer and the
father of liars and there is no truth in him. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"And this is the condemnation,
that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
Jesus said to them, "If God were
your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor
have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. "Why do you not understand My speech?
Because you are not able to listen to My word. "You are of your father the
devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the
father of it.
"But because I tell the truth, you
do not believe Me.
Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we
not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
Jesus answered, "I do not have a
demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
Darkness, deception, lies, and
diseases are some of the devils favorite tools that he uses to ensnare people
who fall into his traps. For God’s word
is true:
Then one of the crowd answered and
said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. "And wherever it
seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and
becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but
they could not."
He answered him and said, "O
faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with
you? Bring him to Me."
Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw
Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and
wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
So He asked his father, "How long has this
been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. "And often he has thrown
him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do
anything, have compassion on us and help us."
Jesus said to him, "If you can
believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out
and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
When Jesus saw that the people
came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and
dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"
Then the spirit cried out,
convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that
many said, "He is dead."
But Jesus took him by the hand and
lifted him up, and he arose. Mark 9:17-27
And behold, there was a woman who
had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way
raise herself up. But when Jesus saw
her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your
infirmity." And He laid His hands on
her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
But the ruler of the synagogue
answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said
to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and
be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."
The Lord then answered him and
said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey
from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
"So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has
bound-think of it-for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"
Luke 13:11-16
Jesus cast out the spirits with a
word, and healed all kinds of sickness
and all kinds of disease. As a matter of
fact He commanded His disciples to:
"Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8
"And these signs will follow
those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with
new tongues; Mark 16:17
Jesus spent a lot of time in His
miracle ministry casting out demons and healing the sick. He disturbed the religious hypocritical
leaders who were devoid of God’s power and they said He was demon possessed. The
bible records for our profit and instruction:
Then one was brought to Him who
was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and
mute man both spoke and saw. And all the
multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
Now when the Pharisees heard it
they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler
of the demons."
But Jesus knew their thoughts, and
said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation,
and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by
whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of
God, surely the kingdom of God
"He who is not with Me is against
Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. "Therefore I say to you, every sin and
blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be
forgiven men. "Anyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the
Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to
come. Matthew 12:22-32
Jesus Christ the author and founder
of the Christian faith taught that one of the signs that the kingdom of God
Now John answered and said,
"Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him
because he does not follow with us." But
Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our
side." Luke 9:49-50
And He was casting out a demon,
and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke;
and the multitudes marveled. But some
of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. " Luke
11:14-15
Jesus never apologized for casting
out demons and performing curses even though the “dead” Pharisees didn’t like it
and wanted to murder Him. But God’s word is unchanging:
On that very day some Pharisees
came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill
You."
And He said to them, "Go, tell
that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and
the third day I shall be perfected.' "Nevertheless I must journey today,
tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish
outside of Jerusalem
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
There were present at that season
some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their
sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said
to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other
Galileans, because they suffered such things?
"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise
perish.
"Or those eighteen on whom the
tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners
than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem
He also spoke this parable: "A
certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on
it and found none. "Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three
years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why
does it use up the ground?'
"But he answered and said to him,
'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 'And if it bears fruit, well. But if not,
after that you can cut it down.' " Luke 13:1-9
No wonder most churches in
America
"Hear another parable: There was a
certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a
winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went
into a far country. "Now when
vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they
might receive its fruit. "And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one,
killed one, and stoned another.
"Again he sent other servants,
more than the first, and they did likewise to them. "Then last of all he sent his son to them,
saying, 'They will respect my son.' "But
when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the
heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' "So they took him and cast him out of the
vineyard and killed him.
"Therefore, when the owner of the
vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"
They said to Him, "He will destroy
those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who
will render to him the fruits in their seasons." Matthew 21:33-41
More than one Jesus Christ has warned
men that God will destroy wicked men and lease His vineyard to other
vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. What God has
done before He can and will do again. Where are the seven churches in Asia minor to whom Apostle John wrote too and they refused
to heed what the Spirit was saying to the churches? Their candlestick was
removed and they became a nonexistent thing!
Why do men add or remove things to
the word of God instead of taking the words of Jesus to mean what He had stated?
Because they are foolish! They just don’t believe that God will turn against
them for after all they are His, redeemed with the blood of Jesus. They ignore the fact that the Lord, having
saved the people out of the land of Egypt Israel
And if some of the branches were
broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and
with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not
boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not
support the root, but the root supports you.
You will say then, "Branches were
broken off that I might be grafted in."
Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by
faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural
branches, He may not spare you either.
Therefore consider the goodness
and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if
you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. Romans
11:17-22
Man’s stupidity and ignorance doesn’t
change God one bit nor His action and ways.
This is something that men need to consider when they presumed things
that have not been checked with the Holy Spirit. For according to Jesus
unprofitable servants will be cast into
the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For God’s word is unchanging:
"For the kingdom of heaven is like
a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his
goods to them. "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another
one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a
journey.
"Then he who had received the five
talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents "And likewise he who had received two gained
two more also. "But he who had received
one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.
"After a long time the lord of
those servants came and settled accounts with them. "So he who had received five talents came and
brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents;
look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
"His lord said to him, 'Well done,
good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you
ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
"He also who had received two
talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have
gained two more talents besides them.'
"His lord said to him, 'Well done,
good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make
you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
"Then he who had received the one
talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have
not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 'And I was afraid, and went and hid your
talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'
"But his lord answered and said to
him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown,
and gather where I have not scattered seed.
'So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my
coming I would have received back my own with interest.
'Therefore take the talent from
him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance;
but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 'And cast the unprofitable servant into the
outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matthew
25:14-30
"For My people have committed two
evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves
cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13
A simple perusal of the word of God
and the teachings and statements of Christian denominations especially
concerning apostles, prophets, gifts of the spirit, judgment and justice will
reveal major differences between the words of Jesus and those of Christian
leaders. Yet God’s word is
unchanging:
"When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His
glory. "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. "And He will
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
"Then the King will say to those
on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world:
'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me
drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in
prison and you came to Me.'
"Then the righteous will answer
Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give
You drink? 'When did we see You a
stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison,
and come to You?'
"And the King will answer and say
to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of
these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on the left
hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the
devil and his angels: 'for I was hungry
and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in,
naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit
Me.'
"Then they also will answer Him,
saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or
sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' "Then He will answer them,
saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "And these will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46
Blind ones refuse to see the needs of
others and anemic ones are in no position to help them. It is also a fact that
you can be religious and go to church and never minister to the hungry, thirsty,
stranger, naked, sick or prisoner. According to Jesus many scribes and Pharisees
do just that and He has promised to vomit them out of His mouth:
"And to the angel of the
church of the Laodiceans write, ' These
things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the
creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could
wish you were cold or hot. "So then,
because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My
mouth.
"Because you say, 'I am rich, have
become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-and do not know that you are wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked- "I
counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and
white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may
not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. "As many
as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
"Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and
dine with him, and he with Me. "To him
who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and
sat down with My Father on His throne. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches." ' " Revelations 3:14-22
It is a fact that before you vomit
something out you must digest it first? In others words God had accepted the
Christians at the church of the Laodiceans to be His people. Because they thought themselves to be a rich,
had become wealthy, and had need of nothing' but in reality did not know that
they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, He counseled them to buy
from Him gold refined in the fire, so that they might be rich; and white
garments, so that they might be clothed, that the shame of their
nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint their eyes with eye salve, so that might may their
true condition. Otherwise He would vomit them out of His mouth if they were not
zealous and did not repent. But if they
would hear God’s voice and open the door He would come in to dine with them and
they with Him. For to him who overcomes will Jesus grant to sit with Him on His
throne, as He had also overcome and sat down with His Father on His throne.
Therefore He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
including:
"And to the angel of the church in
Sardis
"Be watchful, and strengthen the
things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works
perfect before God. "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold
fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a
thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
"You have a few names even in
Sardis
Yes there are many churches and even
denominations that have a name that they are alive but they are dead. Their
works are not perfect before God. They must remember their first love and hold
fast to it and to repent. Otherwise if they do not overcome they shall not be
clothed in white garments and Jesus Christ will blot their name from the Book of
Life and He will not confess their name before His Father and His angels. So much for the
doctrine of demons of “Once Saved, Always Saved!.” Nevertheless the word of
Jesus are unchanging and are to be heeded and obeyed:
Then one of the scribes came, and
having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well,
asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"
Jesus answered him, "The first of all the
commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 'And you shall love the LORD your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your
strength.' This is the first commandment.
"And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
So the scribe said to Him, "Well
said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no
other but He. "And to love Him with all
the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the
strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He
said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God
It’s possible to know and believe
everything about the bible including all its doctrines and not obey the first
and second commandment of God and to go to hell. Fools do it all the time
including the devil.
You can believe that God is the
Eternal, infinite, unchangeable, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice,
power and love and still not obey Him? You can believe that from all eternity He
exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory and still murder,
lie and steal? Why there are even pastors and preachers who do these kinds of
things and yet they believe and say the different Christian creeds.
You can believe that God's kingdom is
everlasting and that from His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God
created, upholds and governs all that exists including the heavenly places, the
angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing and mankind and that He created all things very good and
still not trust Him to get your needed miracle?
You can believe that Satan,
originally a great, good angel, rebelled against God, taking a host of angels
with him and He was cast out of God's presence and, as a usurper of God's rule,
established a counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth and still be
deceived by Him and accept unknowingly doctrine of demons, such as “Once saved,
always saved!”
You can believe that God created
mankind in His own image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to
govern the earth and that under the temptation of Satan, our original parents
fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness
and God's judgment of death to the earth and through the fall, Satan and his
demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation and live in defeat and
failure and not manifest the victories of the cross in your life?
You can believe that Jesus came into
the world, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin as fully God and
fully man in one person, was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy
Spirit, to resist temptation, preach the good news of salvation, heal the sick,
cast out demons and raise the dead and
not do the works that Jesus did?
You can believe what ever you want to
believe about the bible, the old and new testament and not love your neighbor as
yourself? You can graduate from
Seminary, call yourself a Christian and
reject the “Baptism of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit” and be a blind
one leading the blind?
You can be very sincere and religious
and still go to hell for not obeying the teachings of Jesus on certain matters
as being reconciled to an offended brother or not being a respecter of
persons?
The things that people believe are
one thing and the things that they say and do, as Christians, are another thing.
This dichotomy or contradiction is very common in the lives of many people who
call themselves Christians and yet they think that somehow God will make all
things right for them because after all they are sincere and presumptive on His
grace and they are His children? But God’s word is unchanging:
Moreover, brethren, I do not want
you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through
the sea, all were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the
same spiritual food, and all drank the
same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them,
and that Rock was Christ. But with most
of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the
wilderness.
Now these things became our
examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also
lusted. And do not become idolaters as
were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and
rose up to play." Nor let us commit
sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand
fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some
of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also
complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Now all these things happened to them as
examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
ages have come. Therefore let him who
thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God
is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to
bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee
from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:1-14
God, who knows the hearts of all men,
gives His grace to those who really need it, but no one fools Him. Those who
continue to lie and deceive themselves and others that they are Christians, even
though their actual behavior is against the word of God, will find themselves in
places they never expected to be. Neither Peter nor Judas asked the LORD for
forgiveness of their sin of betraying Jesus. But the LORD forgave Peter for
betraying Him before men but He never forgave Judas for the same sin. For God’s word is unchanging:
So when they had eaten breakfast,
Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than
these?"
He said to Him, "Yes, Lord;
You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."
He said to him again a second
time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You
know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of
Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time,
"Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that
I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My
sheep.
"Most assuredly, I say to you,
when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when
you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and
carry you where you do not wish." This
He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken
this, He said to him, "Follow Me."
Then Peter, turning around, saw
the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at
the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?"
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus,
"But Lord, what about this man?"
Jesus said to him, "If I will that
he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." John
21:15-22
Then Jesus said to His disciples,
"Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
heaven. "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God
When His disciples heard it, they
were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
But Jesus looked at them and said
to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:23-26
While men like things to be simple
and clear cut? God and His kingdom is not! There are many things that we cannot
understand nor will we understand until we get to heaven. Nevertheless God’s
word is unchanging:
And Jesus answered and spoke to
them again by parables and said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king
who arranged a marriage for his son,
"and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding;
and they were not willing to come.
"Again, he sent out other servants, saying,
'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted
cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding."
' "But they made light of it and
went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. "And the rest seized his servants, treated
them spitefully, and killed them.
"But when the king heard about it,
he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and
burned up their city. "Then he said to
his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not
worthy. 'Therefore go into the highways,
and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'
"So those servants went out into
the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And
the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
"So he said to him, 'Friend, how
did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. "Then
the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast
him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are called, but few are chosen."
Mathew 22:1-14
We see clearly from the parable that
God does get furious and destroys those who deserve it, just like He did with
Jerusalem Israel
It is a fact that Jesus Christ never
had an altar call although He commanded all men to repent! Salvation is not as
simple as men make it out to be. Even conservative Baptists theologians don’t agree on who is saved:
Unbelievers in Baptist churches:
an 'affront to God,' speaker says
By Jeff Robinson Baptist Press Friday, July 27, 2001
WILMORE, Ky. Asbury College Wilmore , Ky.
Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist
Church in Cape Coral, Fla., pointed to the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message as
continuing the historic Baptist commitment to regenerate church membership. In
practice, however, the denomination reflects a wholesale departure from it, he
said, citing a North American Mission Board (NAMB) study indicating trouble at
this crucial point of biblical doctrine, as well as church membership rosters
filled with the names of "inactive" or missing members.
The doctrine of regenerate church
membership holds that only born-again persons may be members of a local church.
It is a historic Baptist distinctive, championed by all the historic Baptist
confessions of faith, including the 1925, 1963 and 2000 statements of the
Baptist Faith and Message.
"Our practice doesn't measure up
to our confession," Ascol said. "The overwhelming majority of Southern Baptist
church members give little or no sign of spiritual life. There are countless
studies that have been done in the past 15 years that validate this."
As evidence of this jettisoning of
regenerate church membership, Ascol cited figures from the SBC's 2000 church
profile and a study conducted by the North American Missions Board which showed
that:
SBC churches totaled 15.9 million
members but only 5.5 million in total attendance on any given Sunday morning.
"Only 33 percent of those who are supposed to be members care enough to come,"
Ascol said.
The typical SBC church has 233
members but an average attendance of only 70 persons for Sunday morning
worship.
Beyond Sunday morning, only one
member in 10 takes part in further church activities.
Less than one of every 10 persons
who make decisions through the evangelistic efforts of Southern Baptist churches
is active in the church one year later.
Ascol called such membership
statistics a "sham" and "an affront to God."
They are many Christians who will say
that “once saved, always saved” is true
because a person accepted the LORD at an early age and was water baptized. Even
though the same person may not have darkened the church doors in recent years or
have read his or her Bible in 50 years. But there is more to “salvation” than
just the first step of confession or profession! Just entering the race is not
enough. There must be fruits and persistence and perseverance and holiness. For
God’s word is unchanging:
Do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God kingdom of God
Therefore be imitators of God as
dear children. And walk in love, as
Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But
fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among
you, as is fitting for saints; neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but
rather giving of thanks.
For this you know, that no
fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
According to the word of God, you
cannot be a fornicator, unclean person, a covetous man, an adulterer, an
homosexual, a sodomite, a thief, a liar,
a murderer, sexually immoral, or a
drunkard and have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God, even if the person believes in the demon
doctrine of once saved, always saved! Nevertheless God’s word is
unchanging:
And he said to me, "Do not seal
the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still;
he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be
righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End, the First and the Last."
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right
to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the
city.
But outside are dogs and sorcerers
and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and
practices a lie. Revelations 22:10-15
He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and
my fortress; My God, in Him I will
trust." Surely He shall deliver you from
the snare of the fowler And from the
perilous pestilence. He shall cover you
with His feathers, And under His wings
you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the
terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that
walks in darkness, Nor of the
destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Psalm
91:1-8
God doesn’t lie though other do.
Those who abide in the shadow of the most High God have unique benefits that
others do not! They have the provisions and protection of God Himself who
literally is their refuge, fortress, deliverer, shield and defender. For God’s
word is true:
You shall tread upon the lion and
the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. "Because
he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on
high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer
him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long
life I will satisfy him, And show him My
salvation." Psalm 91:13-16
God is no respecter of persons and
shows partiality to no one. What He has done for others including Abraham,
David, Joseph, Job, and Jesus He will do for His trusting ones. They have His
word on it. His word is true:
"Every place that the sole of your
foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. "From the wilderness
and this Lebanon Great Sea
What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all
things? Romans 8:31-32
Under the New and Greater Covenant
God, who had already given His best His only begotten Son, and His counselor the
Holy Spirit, so that His trusting ones might have life and live by the
Spirit, will freely give all other
things to them just for the asking in faith believing
including health, prosperity and wealth. His word is unchanging:
"Behold, I send an Angel before
you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have
prepared. "Beware of Him and obey His
voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My
name is in Him.
"But if you indeed obey His voice
and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an
adversary to your adversaries. "For My
Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and
the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will
cut them off. "You shall not bow down to
their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall
utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He
will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the
midst of you. "No one shall suffer
miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your
days. "I will send My fear before you, I
will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all
your enemies turn their backs to you. Exodus 23:20-27
"Then I will sprinkle clean water
on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and
from all your idols. "I will give you a
new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of
your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do
them. "Then you shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your
God.
"I will deliver you from all your
uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine
upon you. "And I will multiply the fruit
of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear
the reproach of famine among the nations. Ezekiel 36:25-30
Yes to those who return to the Lord
and love and serve Him with all their hearts the blessings of God are limitless,
even in the current time of life. For
God’s word is unchanging:
Come, and let us return to the
LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us
up. After two days He will revive us; On
the third day He will raise us up, That
we may live in His sight. Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the
earth. Hosea 6:1-3
Yes, those who return to the Lord
shall be healed, made whole, revived and blessed. Yes, for those who fear
God’s name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and they shall go out and grow fat like
stall-fed calves. They shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles
of their feet when God does it for them. As God’s word is
unchanging:
"For behold, the day is
coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will
be stubble. And the day which is coming
shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root
nor branch.
But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like
stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of
hosts. Malachi 4:1-3
But if the Spirit of Him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11
Beloved, I pray that you may
prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I
rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you,
just as you walk in the truth. 3 john 1:2-3
And He said to them, "Which
of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend,
lend me three loaves; 'for a friend of
mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do
not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give to you'? "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to
him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and
give him as many as he needs.
"So I say to you, ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to
you. "For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Luke
11:5-10
Jesus encouraged all of His disciples to pray to their heavenly Father concerning their needs,
spiritual, physical, and financial and
to ask, seek, and knock with a promise that “For everyone who asks receives, and
he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” So if men are
lacking anything and their needs are not being met it’s because they are not
heeding the words of Jesus who clearly told them what to do
including:
So He said to them, "When you
pray, say: Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom
come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And
forgive us our sins, For we also forgive
everyone who is indebted to us. And do
not lead us into temptation, But deliver
us from the evil one." Luke 11:1-4
God is more willing to give than His
children are willing to ask. Heaven is
full of things that were not given or done by God to His children because they
did not ask, seek and knock! God’s has done His part and His sons and daughters
must do their part. For God’s word is unchanging:
Simon Peter, a bondservant and
apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who
have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and
Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all
things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who
called us by glory and virtue, by which
have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through
these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. But
also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge, to knowledge
self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to
brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and
abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these
things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was
cleansed from his old sins. 2 Peter 1:1-9
By the righteousness of our God and
Savior Jesus Christ God through His divine power has given to us all things that
pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by
glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious
promises. Promises that have no value if
they are not believed, claimed and acted on!
It’s up to each children of God to
add to His faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to
self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly
kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
Again God has done His part and redemption plan is finished! But God’s
children have to enter in and appropriate the victories of the cross and see
them become a reality in their lives. "For the persistence ones Jesus has
promised that God will rise and give them
as much as they need. As God’s
word is unchanging:
Is anyone among you suffering? Let
him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for
the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord
will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Confess your trespasses to one
another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature
like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain
on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven
gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:13-18
The effective, fervent prayer of a
righteous man doesn’t avail little but much. The American Heritage Dictionary
defines the word much as:
much (m¾ch) adj. more (môr,
m½r), most (m½st). 1. Great in quantity, degree, or extent. --much n. 1. A large
quantity or amount. 2. Something great or remarkable. --much adv.
In other words the effective, fervent
prayer of a righteous man produces something great or remarkable and even
miraculous. As God’s word is unchanging:
When the LORD brought back the
captivity of Zion
Bring back our captivity, O
LORD, As the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come
again with rejoicing, Bringing his
sheaves with him. Psalm 126:1-6
Indeed we count them blessed who
endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by
the Lord-that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11
Well if the prayers of one righteous
man produce great results, how about the collective prayers of many righteous
ones? They will produce even greater results:
So when they heard that, they
raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made
heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, "who by the mouth of Your servant David have
said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the
people plot vain things? The kings of
the earth took their stand, And the
rulers were gathered together Against
the LORD and against His Christ.' "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus,
whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the
people of Israel
"Now, Lord, look on their threats,
and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, "by
stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through
the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
And when they had prayed, the
place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:24-31
On the same day, when evening had
come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."
Now when they had left the
multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats
were also with Him. And a great
windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already
filling. But He was in the stern, asleep
on a pillow.
And they awoke Him and said to
Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
Then He arose and rebuked the
wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was
a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you
have no faith?"
And they feared exceedingly, and
said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"
Mark 4:35-41
When evening had come, Jesus
said to His disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side" and they obeyed and
followed Him. But a great windstorm
arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a
pillow. The fearful disciples were not proud or arrogant to admit that they
needed Jesus’ help. So they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care
that we are perishing?"
Jesus did care and He arose and
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased
and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is
it that you have no faith?"
But if the disciples were too proud
to wake up the Lord and ask for His help, what would have happened? They would have suffered needlessly and would
not have seen the miracle of the Lord saying to the sea, Peace, be still!" And
the wind and the sea obeyed Him!
The word of God has much to say on
the subject on humility and being humble that determine if men are blessed by
God or are cursed by Him:
Sing praises to the LORD, who
dwells in Zion 9:11 -12
For You will save the humble
people, But will bring down haughty looks. Psalm 18:27
The LORD lifts up the humble; He
casts the wicked down to the ground. Psalm 147:6
For the LORD takes pleasure in His
people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4
Being proud and arrogant comes
naturally to man and these are sins that God hates. As a matter of fact God goes
out of His way to humble a proud person. The bible records for our profit about
what God does to the proud ones:
Have you an arm like God? Or can
you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty and
splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Disperse the rage of your
wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him
low; Tread down the wicked in their place.
Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you.
Job 40:9-14
For You will save the humble
people, But will bring down haughty looks. For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my
darkness. For by You I can run against a
troop, By my God I can leap over a
wall. As for God, His way is
perfect; The word of the LORD is
proven; He is a shield to all who trust
in Him. For who is God, except the
LORD? And who is a rock, except our
God? It is God who arms me with
strength, And makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And
sets me on my high places. Psalm
18:27 -33
Yes, the Lord saves the humble people
but He also looks on everyone who is proud, and humbles him. He looks on everyone who is proud, and brings
him low. For God resists the proud, but
gives grace to the humble. His word is unchanging:
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do
you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever
therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do
you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns
jealously"? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
Therefore submit to God. Resist
the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded. Lament and mourn and
weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and He will lift you up. James 4:1-10
Those who humble themselves in the
sight of the Lord He lifts them up. He will also forgive their sins and heal
their land. For His word is true:
"When I shut up heaven and there
is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among
My people, "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.2 Chronicles
7:13-14
Also He spoke this parable
to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector.
"The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men- extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all
that I possess.'
"And the tax collector, standing
afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
"I tell you, this man went down to
his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:9-14
God really loves and defends those
who are humble. Children are very humble and God really loves and cares for
them. God’s true children who have humbled themselves just like little
children are also really loved and meek and humble. And God has warned men not to touch or hurt His
humble ones or there will be severe consequences. His word is true:
At that time the disciples came to
Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set
him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are
converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom
of heaven.
"Therefore whoever humbles himself
as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever receives one little child like this
in My name receives Me
"But whoever causes one of these
little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone
were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the
sea.
"Woe to the world because of
offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense
comes! "If your hand or foot causes you
to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life
lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the
everlasting fire. Matthew 18:1-18
who Himself bore our sins in His
own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for
righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
For those who are sick there is hope
in Jesus who is still the master physician who surrounds His trusting ones with love and mercy. He
wants good things and health and life for
them. He suffered that we might be whole. By his stripes we are healed.
God almighty and powerful is full of mercy and grace. He sees what is happening
with His own in the now and He cares. His word is unchanging:
May the LORD answer you in the day
of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah May He grant you according to your heart's
desire, And fulfill all your purpose. We
will rejoice in your salvation, And in
the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
Now I know that the LORD saves His
anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of
His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our
God. They have bowed down and
fallen; But we have risen and stand
upright. Save, LORD! May the King answer
us when we call Psalm 20:1-9
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all
that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And
forget not all His benefits: Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals
all your diseases, Who redeems your life
from destruction, Who crowns you with
lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who
satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle Psalm 103:1-5
Yes, all of God’s children can place
their hope in the Lord and in His goodness.
They can keep their eyes on the truth of His Word, the truth of His
Promises. They can dwell on Him who is
the same yesterday today and forever --not their circumstances, how ever
negative they can be. They can trust in Him for He is good and He unlike their
enemy, the devil, doesn’t lie. God’s word is unchanging:
Fear not, for I am with you; Be
not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help
you, I will uphold you with My righteous
right hand.'
"Behold, all those who were
incensed against you Shall be ashamed
and disgraced; They shall be as
nothing, And those who strive with you
shall perish. You shall seek them and
not find them- Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent
thing.
For I, the LORD your God, will
hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.' Isaiah
41:10-13
In righteousness you shall
be established; You shall be far from
oppression, for you shall not fear; And
from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for
your sake.
"Behold, I have created the
blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to
destroy. No weapon formed against you
shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the
servants of the LORD, And their
righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD. Isaiah 54:14-17
"Nothing is impossible with God." God
wants to fulfill His promises in the
life of His trusting ones, and by
His great power He is able to accomplish that and much more. His word is unchanging:
The eyes of the LORD are on the
righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the
earth.
The righteous cry out, and the
LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken
heart, And saves such as have a contrite
spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is
broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be
condemned.
The LORD redeems the soul of His
servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Psalm
34:15-22
God wants to give health and
restoration to all of His trusting ones. He desires Heaven’s best for them. His
word is true:
'Behold, I will bring it health
and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and
truth. 'And I will cause the captives
of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as
at the first.
'I will cleanse them from all
their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their
iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against
Me.
'Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a
praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the
good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all
the prosperity that I provide for it.' Jeremiah 33:6-9
No the Lord is not the last resort to
run to in time of need or sickness. He is the first resort to run to for He is
the shield and high tower for His trusting ones, as well as their rock, refuge
and exceeding great reward. His word is unchanging:
"Because he has set his love upon
Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known
My name. He shall call upon Me, and I
will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." Psalm
91:14-16
For this reason I bow my knees to
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would
grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might
through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the width and length and depth and height- to know the love of Christ which passes
knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, to Him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians
3:14-21
The LORD is righteous in all His
ways, Gracious in all His works. The
LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear
Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The LORD preserves all who love Him, But all
the wicked He will destroy. Psalm 145:17-20
Since greater is the Lord who is in
us then the devil that is in the world and more are those who are for us than
those who are against us, we have nothing to fear! Especially as total victory
for us is guaranteed over every enemy, be they demons or men! No matter what are
the negative circumstances or situations we are to be strong and very courageous
for God’s word is true:
"Every place that the sole of your
foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. "From the wilderness
and this Lebanon Great Sea
And when the servant of the man of
God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with
horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall
we do?"
So he answered, "Do not fear, for
those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed,
and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see."
Then the LORD opened the eyes of
the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2
Kings 6:15-17
Yes, the eye of faith, by the Spirit
can see things that the carnal ones cannot ever see – horses and chariots of
fires are around God’s true ones to persevere and protect them. God is no
respecter of persons and show partiality to none. His word is true:
'The LORD your God, who goes
before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt
before your eyes, 'and in the wilderness
where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in
all the way that you went until you came to this place.' Deuteronomy
1:30-31
"When you go out to battle against
your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do
not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up
from the land of Egypt.
"So it shall be, when you are on
the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the
people. "And he shall say to them,
'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not
let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified
because of them; 'for the LORD your God
is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you '
(to give you victory.) Deuteronomy 20:1-4
"Blessed shall you be when you
come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise
against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one
way and flee before you seven ways. "The LORD will command the blessing on you
in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you
in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 28:6-8
Yes, those who by the Spirit make
themselves clean, cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the
oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow and are willing and
obedient shall eat the good of the land. For God’s word is
unchanging:
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek
justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall
be as wool. If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You
shall be devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah
1:16-20
Do not be deceived, God is not
mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the
flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. Galatians 6:7-8
The thoughts of God towards His
people is of peace, not evil, to bless, save, heal, deliver and prosper them and
to give them power to get wealth. God wants to give His people victory in all
the battles of life. For God’s word is true:
"And you shall remember the LORD
your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish
His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy
8:18
For I know the thoughts that I
think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you
a future and a hope. Then you will call
upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me
and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah
29:11-13
"In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be
done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive
us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But
deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13
The Lord is a shield to all who trust
in him and He makes their way perfect. He makes their feet like the feet of
deer, and sets them on them high places where they can call those things that do
not exist as though they did. God’s trusting ones can take authority over the
negative circumstances in their lives and treat them as mountains and tell them
to move and they will move. They are at their command, as they use the authority
that God has given them.
In Jesus name God’s trusting ones can
speak to their mountains and say defeat become victory, crooked be made
straight, injustice become justice, wrong become right, poverty become plenty,
lack become abundance, negative things become positive things, sickness become
health, weakness become strength, curses become blessings, loss become
restoration, bondage become redemption, wealth and riches become a reality and
mountains be moved into the sea and be no more! For God's word is
true:
So Jesus said to them, "Because of
your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20
The LORD remains always to His true
ones THE GREAT I AM! God has given them the Kingdom when He had given them His
only Son and His wonderful counselor the Holy Spirit. All of the Kingdoms great
resources and power and Persons are at their disposal because of the name, which
is above every name. The name of Jesus that is above every principality, power,
diseases, sickness, lack, shortage, mountain, lack, enemy, need and thing under
the sun or in the darkness.
Though, little they are not small.
Though, weak they are not without resources. Though, helpless they are not
without wisdom. Though, defenseless they are not without a defender. Their
answer is always their Savior. He is their source of total supply. He is their
friend and defender. They are to look to
Him and not to the world, their friends, their family or themselves. There is no
other who can deliver them but He Himself. He has not deserted them and has only
begun His fight for He is their Lord and Savior.
God will provide for His true ones as
well as all the things that the gentiles seek. That is for those who seek first
the kingdom of
God
God is not limited at all. He has all
the power of the universe at His disposal and He will not leave His anointed and
true children desolate or destitute in any way. Because they are the friends of
Jesus they are His friends also and they are all friends together. God’s word is
unchanging:
I will lift up my eyes to the
hills- From whence comes my help? My
help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot
to be moved; He who keeps you will not
slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel
"LORD, it is nothing for You to
help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our
God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD,
You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!" 2 Chronicles
14:11
God's true ones are to keep to their
faith and belief in Him. He will not let them down for He loves them too much.
They must keep walking faithfully in Him for He is their way-maker in the middle
of the desert. He will heal their land and bring them to a new place and renew
their lease on life. He will not leave them in defeat, despair, or lack. He is
the Way-Maker and they are not to look to anyone but Him. He is answers to all
of life's problems as they rest on Him and wait with calm assurance in Him and
His Word.
Moreover the word of the LORD came
to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the
prison, saying, "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to
establish it (the LORD is His name):
'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.' "For thus says
the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses
of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege
mounds and the sword: 'They come to
fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of
men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have
hidden My face from this city. Jeremiah 33:1-5
God encourages all of His people to
'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which
you do not know.' Now God will do great and wonderful things but not all of
God’s signs and wonders are positive ones. As Egypt with it’s mighty Pharaoh
found out, God’s signs and wonders were very negative and not a blessing?
God had promised to rescue His people
from their bondage, and redeem them with an outstretched arm and with great
judgments. The bible records:
"Therefore say to the children of
Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an
outstretched arm and with great judgments.
'I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall
know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of
the Egyptians. 'And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the
LORD.' " (Exodus 6:6-8)
The children of Israel, who were
miraculously delivered by God from their Egyptian oppressors and saw God’s great
judgment, signs and wonders upon them including the miraculous parting of the
Red Sea and the destruction and drowning of their enemies in it, chose not to
believe that God would fight for them in the Promised Land according to all that
He did for them in Egypt before their eyes.
As a result they never went into the promised land but died in the
wilderness of their own choosing!
These kind of things do happen to men
even in the current time of life. They make wrong choices and choose to believe
false men instead of God and suffer the consequences for their foolishness. For
God’s word is unchanging:
"Beware of false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men
gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 7 "Even so, every good
tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a
bad tree bear good fruit.
"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire.
"Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
"Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven.
"Many will say to Me in that day,
'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?'
"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you
who practice lawlessness!'
"Therefore whoever hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his
house on the rock: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the
rock.
"But everyone who hears these
sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his
house on the sand: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." Matthew
7:14-27
Sincerity and presumption are not a
guarantee of anything including salvation. You can be very sincere and
presumptive and drink a bottle labeled poison and die from it? So similarly
false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravenous wolves, deceive many of God’s people and they miss God’s best for their
lives. For God’s word is unchanging:
"Therefore take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to
shepherd the church of God
"So now, brethren, I commend you
to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you
an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or
apparel. "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my
necessities, and for those who were with me.
"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must
support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is
more blessed to give than to receive.' " Act 20:28-35
But even if we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let
him be accursed. As we have said before,
so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you
have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9
I charge you therefore before God
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His
appearing and His kingdom: Preach the
word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all
longsuffering and teaching.
For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they
have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the
truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:1-4
Being born again and filled with the
fullness of God’s spirit, speaking in tongues, prophesying, laying hands on the
sick so that they will recover, and performing miracles is part of the Gospel
that Paul preached. To deny or reject these things to preach another gospel for
God’s word is unchanging:
Now concerning spiritual gifts,
brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles,
carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one
speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that
Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
There are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. There are
differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works
all in all. But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom
through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds
of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these
things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Corinthians
12:1-11
And God has appointed these in the
church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 1
Corinthians 12:28
To be ignorant of Spiritual gifts and
not to pursue them is against the word of God and the teaching of Apostle Paul
and is definitely the preaching of another gospel!
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but
especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak
to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks
mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks
edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies
the church.
I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even
more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks
with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive
edification. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5
If anyone thinks himself to be a
prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you
are the commandments of the Lord. But if
anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to
speak with tongues. Let all things be
done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:37-40
"And the patriarchs, becoming
envious, sold Joseph into Egypt
And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:19
For those who will love and serve the
Lord like Joseph did, even as a slave and in prison, and hold to their
integrity, God’s supply of riches and resources is unlimited.
'Behold, the days are coming,'
says the LORD, 'that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the
house of Israel and to the house of Judah: 'In those days and at that time I
will cause to grow up to David A Branch
of righteousness; He shall execute
judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah
"Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8
God has a season and perfect timing
for all things, including when He shall perform for His children, His church and
the nation of Israel
Is anyone among you suffering? Let
him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let
him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord. And
the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if
he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Confess your trespasses to one
another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Elijah was a man with a nature
like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain
on the land for three years and six months. 8 And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:13-18
Seasons for answers and showers of
blessings are not under man’s control but God’s. Nevertheless God’s word is
unchanging:
"I will make a covenant of peace
with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell
safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. "I will make them and the
places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in
their season; there shall be showers of blessing. "Then the trees of the field shall yield
their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their
land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of
their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. "And
they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land
devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them
afraid.
"I will raise up for them a garden
of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor
bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore.
"Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they,
the house of Israel
The strength and resources of God’s
people is nothing less than God Himself and all His riches and resources, no
matter what they are going through. The excellence of the power is of God and
not of us. For God’s word is
unchanging:
But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of
us. We are hard pressed on every side,
yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-
always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the
life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always
delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be
manifested in our mortal flesh.
So then death is working in
us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to
what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and
therefore speak, knowing that He who
raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us
with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through
the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart.
Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed
day by day. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory, while we do not look at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2
Corinthians 4:7-17
God’s trusting ones do not lose
heart, even though their outward man is perishing; yet their inward man is being
renewed day by day. Their light affliction, which is but for a moment,
is working for them a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory, as
they do not look at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In all things the life of Jesus and
the glory of God is still manifested in them as God always leads them in triumph
in Christ. For God’s word is
unchanging:
O LORD, You are the portion of my
inheritance and my cup; You maintain my
lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the LORD who has given me
counsel; My heart also instructs me in
the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my
right hand I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:5-8
The LORD is my light and my
salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD
is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Now thanks be to God who always
leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His
knowledge in every place. For we are to
God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who
are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the
other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not, as so many,
peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the
sight of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 14:14-17
I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans
12:1-2
God has a specific plan and purpose
for each one of His children that He would love to reveal to them. But first
they must surrender their bodies to the Lord and get Him to create in them a
clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within them. For God’s word is
unchanging:
I have called upon You, for You
will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to
me, and hear my speech. Show Your
marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against
them. Keep me as the apple of Your
eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your
wings, From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me. Psalm 17:6-9
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your
salvation, And uphold me by Your
generous Spirit. Then I will teach
transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Psalm
51:10-13
Whatever is not given to God by His
people could end up destroying or damaging them spiritually. For God’s word is unchanging:
Do not love the world or the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is
passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides
forever. 1 John 2:15-17
You can do great, marvelous and
wonderful things in life and still not do the will of God. As a result it will
not profit you at all in heaven. For God’s word is true:
"Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in
Your name?' "And then I will declare to
them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew
7:21-23
Though I speak with the tongues of
men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging
cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the
poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me
nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Although many of those who are called
by God’s name cannot accept the fact, but lawlessness can be defined as doing
your will rather than God’s will. Just like king Saul who did God’s will for the
most part, but then substituted his ideas and ways in the process and was
rejected by God, many of religious ones could find themselves in places they
never expected. For God’s word is
true:
Now the word of the LORD came to
Samuel, saying, "I greatly regret that I
have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not
performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD
all night.
So when Samuel rose early in the
morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to Carmel, and
indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by,
and gone down to Gilgal."
Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul
said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of
the LORD."
But Samuel said, "What then is
this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I
hear?"
And Saul said, "They have brought
them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the
oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly
destroyed."
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be
quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to
him, "Speak on."
So Samuel said, "When you were
little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not
the LORD anoint you king over Israel? "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and
said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against
them until they are consumed.' "Why then
did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and
do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
And Saul said to Samuel, "But I
have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD
sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. "But the people took of the
plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly
destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying
the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey
is better than sacrifice, And to heed
than the fat of rams. For rebellion is
as the sin of witchcraft, And
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the
LORD, He also has rejected you from
being king." 1 Samuel 15:10-23
While the Lord of lords and the
King of kings was upset that He had set up Saul as king, for he had turned back
from following Him, and had not performed His commandments, Saul thought he had
performed the commandment of the Lord and went to Carmel
Blind and deceived Saul did not
appreciate at all that God did not delight
in burnt offerings and sacrifices, but in obeying His voice. He did not understand that rebellion
was as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness was as iniquity and
idolatry. As result because Saul had
rejected the word of the LORD, God rejected him from being king.
Just because a group of people, even
a large number of them such as a particular denomination, liked and did
something for God, it is still lawlessness if it wasn’t the will of God. God’s will is quite simple and Jesus defined
it quite clearly. The bible records for our profit and instruction:
Then one of the scribes came, and
having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well,
asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?
Jesus answered him, "The first of
all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is
one. 'And you shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength.' This is the first commandment.
"And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
So the scribe said to Him, "Well
said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no
other but He. "And to love Him with all
the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the
strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Now when Jesus saw that he
answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But
after that no one dared question Him. Mark 12:28-34
Based on whether people obey the
first and second commandment makes them to be sheep or goats. Sheep go into
eternal life and the goats go away into everlasting punishment. For God’s word
is unchanging:
"When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His
glory. "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. "And He will
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
"Then the King will say to those
on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world:
'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me
drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in
prison and you came to Me.'
"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying,
'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You
drink? 'When did we see You a stranger
and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to
You?'
"And the King will answer and say
to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of
these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on the left
hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the
devil and his angels: 'for I was hungry
and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in,
naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit
Me.'
"Then they also will answer Him,
saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or
sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'
"Then He will answer them, saying,
'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of
these, you did not do it to Me.' "And
these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life." Mark 25:31-46
"Because he has set his love upon
Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will
set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in
trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation." Psalm 91:14-16
God doesn’t lie. His Word is true and
He keeps His word. If anybody is a liar it’s the devil and man for God’s word is
unchanging:
"Why do you not understand My
speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. "You are of your father
the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar
and the father of it.
"But because I tell the truth, you
do not believe Me.
Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we
not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
Jesus answered, "I do not have a
demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. "And I do not seek My own glory; there is
One who seeks and judges.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, if
anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." John 8:43-51
The devil is a liar and so are his
friends. The word of God warns us that some will depart from the faith and give
heed deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
speaking lies in hypocrisy. They
will speak great swelling words of emptiness.
While they promise men liberty
they only bring them into bondage. But God’s word is true:
For if, after they have escaped
the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse
for them than the beginning. For it
would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than
having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has
happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own
vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." 2 Peter
2:20-22
This is the message which we have
heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness
at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie
and do not practice the truth. But if we
walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His
word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10
The wayward man is a man of empty
ambitions devoid of the purpose and call of God upon his life. He walks in total
evil self-centeredness and wonders why he is in trouble most of the time. He is
happy only occasionally and that due to circumstances he is currently enjoying
for joy is not really in his spirit or his heart. He walks in the shallowness of
his every evil thought and wonders why he is not happy.
Happiness is a condition of man as a
result of a right relationship with the Lord. It comes upon one when attitudes
and actions lines up with the truth of Heaven. This is possible in the duration
of time as one comes to a true understanding life is not selfish, carnal or
temporal. It is other centered, spiritual and eternal. When one lives with this
understanding then with time and attention for establishing the truth in one's
life, one's existence may become productive for the Kingdom of Heaven
Life is not meant for man but man for
life. For life is only truly lived in the realm and presence of the LORD and his
teachings. When one truly understands this, then Jesus' sacrifice on the cross
begins to make sense. He provided the sacrifice and the alternative to selfish
carnal living and opened the door to Heaven for mankind once again. For man
broke his covenant and relationship with his creator long ago but recaptures it
with the acceptance and a renewed relationship with Jesus his Savior. With this
understanding, a spiritual dimension opens up in the man's life and once again
he can have a personal and intimate relationship with his creator-The Father of
Heaven-The LORD!
This awakening is only the beginning
of his relationship. He must understand that he must acquire the truth each day
for the rest of his live and continue to build his relationship with the
Heavenly Father each day through Jesus Christ. This is possible only as he
spends both quality and quantity of time alone in the Presence of the Lord. He
sets aside time for spiritual refreshment and instruction.
The Lord specifically said, he had
taken away Jesus so he could send the Comforter or the Holy Spirit to each one
of His children who truly believe. This relationship with the Holy Spirit is the
beginning of their relationship with the Father of Heaven and must be
cultivated, nurtured and matured. This takes time, attention and teachableness.
One must not be closed to new instruction, as long as it is not contrary to the
written Word of God and falls in line with the personality of God.
This reawakening is possible through
long hours of reading, meditation, study and prayer mixed with praise. Without
this time in the dark room of God's classroom the immature never come to full
maturity. The maturity process takes time and it can be speeded up if the person
is willing to spend more time and effort with the Lord, until truth takes it's
rightful place in the person's daily life. Just going to church and listening to
a sermon on Sunday or any other day, won't do it. It's not enough because it
takes quality time spent with the Holy Spirit that brings about real change in a
person's spiritual life and ultimately in their outward daily living.
Change is only possible through the
Presence of the Holy Spirit and keeping your spiritual eyes on the Lord. Changes comes about through spending time in
God’s presence:
The Holy Spirit Can Change Anything About
You!
He can change your
circumstances,
He can change your mind,
He can change your
personality,
He can change your
relationships,
He can change the way you feel about
things,
He can change anything,
If you
will give Him one thing--
Time in His Presence!
By faith the walls of Jericho
By faith the harlot Rahab did not
perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with
peace.
And what more shall I say? For the
time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of
David and Samuel and the prophets: who
through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped
the mouths of lions, quenched the
violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Hebrews 11:30-34
God did not give men faith to be
religious but rather that through faith they would subdue kingdoms, work
righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of
fire, escape the edge of the sword, out of weakness be made strong, become
valiant in battle, and turn to flight the armies of the aliens. For God’s word is unchanging:
So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did
His disciples. And suddenly, a woman who
had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His
garment. For she said to herself, "If
only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."
But Jesus turned around, and when
He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."
And the woman was made well from that hour. Matthew 9:19-22
And He said to her,
"Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your
affliction." Mark 5:34
Then Jesus said to him, "Go
your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight
and followed Jesus on the road. Mark 10:52
Yes, the use of our faith makes us
well spiritually, physically and financially. Yes, the use of our faith helps us
to overcome the world and gives us the victory.
For God’s word is true:
And the apostles said to the
Lord, "Increase our faith."
So the Lord said, "If you have
faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the
roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
"And which of you, having a
servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the
field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?
"But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and
gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will
eat and drink'? "Does he thank that
servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think
not.
"So likewise you, when you have
done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable
servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' " Luke 17:5-10
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
For whatever is born of God
overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our
faith. 1 John 5:4
Jesus Christ the author and finisher
of our faith taught and anticipated that His true disciples would use their faith, even a mustard size of
faith, to do greater works than He did
in the current time of life and then
say when you have ‘We are unprofitable
servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ Yet God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore the LORD heard this and
was furious; So a fire was kindled
against Jacob, And anger also came up
against Israel, Because they did not
believe in God, And did not trust in His
salvation. Psalm 78:21
Unbelief is not faith and it’s not a
friend but an enemy of God’s people that robs them of many things including
mighty works, miracles and the moving of mountains. For God’s word is
true:
Now He did not do many mighty
works there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58
So Jesus said to them, "Because of
your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20
Jesus did some miracles for some
despite people’s unbelief but not as much as He would have loved to
do:
Now He could do no mighty work
there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And
He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a
circuit, teaching. Mark 6:5-6
Jesus, Himself, taught that If one
could can believe, all things were possible to him who believed. He even helped
those who asked for help in this area:
Then one of the crowd answered and
said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. "And wherever it seizes him, it throws him
down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to
Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." He answered him and said, "O faithless
generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring
him to Me."
Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw
Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and
wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He
asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From
childhood. "And often he has thrown him
both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do
anything, have compassion on us and help us."
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all
things are possible to him who believes."
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord,
I believe; help my unbelief!"
When Jesus saw that the people came running
together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I
command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him
greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He
is dead."
But Jesus took him by the hand and
lifted him up, and he arose. And when He
had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not
cast it out?" So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer
and fasting. " Mark 9:17-29
Jesus, Himself, was exasperated with
what He called a faithless generation. But He who is the Lord of all is more
than capable of handling any situation and problem that is brought to Him in
faith. Casting out demons in Jesus name is an authority that God has given to
all His true ones and is in the great commission Jesus gave to His people.
Mind you some things do not come out
except by prayer and fasting. Not so much because God’s power is limited but
that men are so full of unbelief that they need to change so that they can be
full of faith and power. For unbelief short circuits the power of God.
Unbelief and hardness of heart is
something that God in Jesus Christ rebuked His disciples for. It is definitely
not something that God approves from His disciples. God’s word
records:
Later He appeared to the eleven as
they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart,
because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. Mark
16:14
But God is faithful, even when others
do not believe:
For what if some did not believe?
Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but
every man a liar. Romans 3:3-4
Nevertheless God’s people are to
beware for there is an evil heart of unbelief which willfully makes a person
depart from the living God through the deceitfulness of sin. For God’s word
tells His people:
Beware, brethren, lest there be in
any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but
exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast to the end, while
it is said: "Today, if you will hear His
voice, Do not harden your hearts as in
the rebellion."
For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was
it not all who came out of Egypt
Unbelief even causes God’s people to
harden their hearts and rebel against God and as a result incur His judgments
instead of His blessings. It results in the inability of God people to inherit
or enter into the promises of God receive its blessings and gifts and callings.
We see this in the life of a a priest named Zacharias, whose wife was Elizabeth
But they had no child, because
Elizabeth
But the angel said to him, "Do not
be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and
you shall call his name John. "And you
will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. "For he will be
great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. "And
he will turn many of the children of Israel
And Zacharias said to the
angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced
in years."
And the angel answered and said to
him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to
you and bring you these glad tidings.
"But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these
things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled
in their own time."
And the people waited for
Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to
them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he
beckoned to them and remained speechless. Luke 1:7-22
It is interesting that the angel had
brought good news to Zacharias to tell him that his prayer was heard
and his wife Elizabeth would bear
him a son. A son who would go who the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
But Zacharias did not believe
the words of the angel, as he looked to his circumstance and situation. Hence,
the same angel pronounced judgment on him.
As a result Zacharias would be mute and not able to speak until the day
these things took place, because he did not believe the words of the angel,
which would be fulfilled in their own time.
It’s very interesting that God
brought judgment upon once of His servants, a priest, who did not believe his
words. Just like He brought judgment on the children of Israel Egypt Israel
But Zacharias’ story did not end
there. For on the eighth day when they came to circumcise the child, Zacharias
wrote on a tablet, "His name is John." God’s word records:
Immediately his mouth was opened
and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.
Then fear came on all who dwelt
around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill
country of Judea . And all those who heard them kept them in
their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the
Lord was with him.
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the
Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
"Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of
salvation for us In the house of His
servant David, As He spoke by the mouth
of His holy prophets, Who have been
since the world began, That we should be
saved from our enemies And from the hand
of all who hate us, To perform the mercy
promised to our fathers And to remember
His holy covenant, The oath which He
swore to our father Abraham: To grant us
that we, Being delivered from the hand
of our enemies, Might serve Him without
fear, In holiness and righteousness
before Him all the days of our life.
"And you, child, will be called
the prophet of the Highest; For you will
go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of
salvation to His people By the remission
of their sins, Through the tender mercy
of our God, With which the Dayspring
from on high has visited us; To give
light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
So the child grew and became strong in spirit,
and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel
Zacharias filled with the Holy
Spirit, prophesied about the plans and purposes of God for His people that most
people have not appreciated nor claimed. That the Lord God of
Israel
As a result now they would be saved
from their enemies and from the hand of all those who hate them. For God had
come to deliver them from the hand of their enemies - so that they might serve
Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life. Deliverance from enemies and all those who
hate them is in the Covenant which God has with His people. This is something that many have not accepted and as a result is not
real to them because of unbelief.
But God has come in Christ Jesus to
deliver His people from all kinds of enemies and to give them victory over them.
For His word is true:
"When you go out to battle
against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than
you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought
you up from the land of Egypt
"So it shall be, when you are on
the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the
people. "And he shall say to them,
'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not
let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified
because of them; 'for the LORD your God
is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'(
to give you victory) Deuteronomy 20:1-4
"These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33
You are of God, little children,
and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in
the world. 1 John 4:4
To everything there is a
season, A time for every purpose under
heaven: A time to be born, And a time to
die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace. Ecclesiastes
3:1-8
Jesus Christ is the Way-Maker and Winds
in every storm. Every man, woman and child must face the storms which He sends
their way and overcome by the blood of the Lamb. There are no more crumbs off of
the master’s table because now they have the real thing available to them. They
have the real Jesus and His real Presence in the Holy Spirit. Yet, many perish
and many more suffer needlessly because they have chosen their own way rather
than the LORD’S!
They work
their folly in many different ways but the end is still the same—destruction,
devastation and great loss. Can men say they can live without the truth in their
lives? No. Yet, many chose to live as though God don’t exist or as though the
truth is not alive. But the truth and Jesus Christ are one in the same, they are both the Great
I AM. For Jesus Christ is the truth personified. He is the healer and defender
of all mankind, yet many chose to believe in “something out there” and assume He
is on their side “no matter what!”
If this
were true more people would be more of what they want to be doing rather than
suffering and dying as they are. They would be more successful in the physical
realm, which it appears they are not. They would be more successful in the
spiritual realm, which appears they are. But, looks are deceiving and deception
is conceived in the very heart of man. He is the first one to believe he is
doing it right and is pure beyond all others, when the truth is far from their
reality.
But men,
even religious ones, have created a
world for themselves that deifies their ways and glorifies their path and leads
them to death. They think they have the reality of God’s Person and His truth
and they have neither. So, what is the answer? How can men return to God when
they have strayed far from Him? By bending a knee in true humility and saying
with contrite heart, “I have sinned forgive me?” Then, recognizing their true
worthlessness they turn from their pride and surrender each day from then on--to
God alone.
But,
winsome ways and proud hearts continue upon their dubious path and finally end
in wayward destruction and can only ask—how can this be that I have ended this
way? The answer is in the Word and their path. Had they lined one up with the
other, the two would be one and there would be no difference.
But, men
don’t understand the heart of God. They assume too much and presume the rest
will be acceptable—‘somehow.’ That paths that have departed by an inch can
become incorrigibly separated by a very long mile, are somehow acceptable to a
perfect and loving Heavenly Father. This is true. He is a loving and Heavenly
Father but one does not negate the other. His love does not include
unconditional acceptance just because we whisper His Name and align ourselves a
little with His truth.
The time has come for judgment and
the resurrection light to dawn upon the sons of men. They have established
themselves upon the earth and propagated
and done what they desire to do but they have not done what God has
desired them to do. So, now is the time of reckoning. They are receiving exactly
what they desire—not more and not less. Each will receive his due
reward.
A false front is a poor substitute
for the real thing. Jesus Christ is the real thing and no man comes to the
Father except through Me. So, let no man say he is able to stand when he can
only fall continually. He is the greatest restorer of the breach and the only
One who cares to restore at all. God’s people must return to Him for others will
not be their salvation only Him. And He
will do it with a mighty outstretched hand and great power! His word is true:
God stands in the congregation of
the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, And show
partiality to the wicked? Selah Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to
the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of
the wicked.
They do not know, nor do they
understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are
unstable. I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.
But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes." Arise, O God,
judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations. Psalm 82:1-8
But the end is coming for many who
thought themselves superior and above the truth. Their Waterloo
The righteous shall rejoice when
he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, So
that men will say, "Surely there is a
reward for the righteous; Surely He is
God who judges in the earth. Psalm 58:10-11
"This is the word of the LORD to
Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a
plain! And he shall bring forth the
capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to
it!" ' " Zechariah 4:6-7
The winds of change are blowing all
across this land. The sea breezes are flowing and destroying the land. The
helmet of salvation is full of holes. The arrows of discord have pierced it
through. Many men say they have done
better than them all. Yet, they walk in discord and love only themselves. They
have turned to the right and the left without thought of what they have done.
They forget their place and walk among the dead as one dead
themselves.
Dead men’s bones can’t resurrect
themselves. Only a God of mercy and grace can do this. Yet, they carry on in
their pride and deceit and wonder why all their plans have come to naught. They
curse the enemy and shake their fist at God. They turn their heads from right to
left and feel sorry for themselves. They could never solve it except on both
their knees. Yet, they continue on as though their LORD could be so easily led
and deceived.
But, God is no fool. He knows their
hearts. He knows their plans have no place for Him or his cohorts. His true Ones
are never given place or recognized as “who they are” because then they would
have to admit how wrong they are before
Him. This they could never do so they’ll go along their merry way assuming they
are doing God good will.
Generations march along living their
vain lives, in assumptions of their own making, never coming to a knowledge of
the real truth because they are so busy with their own lives. Oh, vain fools.
Who told you to escape the wrath to come? Could you not hear the clarion call?
Could you not see the simple truth?
There is no way but His. There is no
path but His. There is no profit but His. There is no success save His. There is
no other interpretation of the truth but His. Any other interpretation leads to
heresy and death. You have chosen the way of death because you have chosen your
own interpretation of God’s immutable truth.
When you refused to accept the gift
of the Holy Presence in your life. When you failed to tune your spirit to His
Voice. When you decided on your own understanding and interpretations. When you
ignored the hurt and needy. This you did to your own destruction. You forgot the
immutable truth—when you give sacrificially as the Lord told you tom you will
receive multiplied back to you many times.
When you remain humble in the
master’s service—you become useful and pliable to His very command and desire.
Then you are truly useful. Anything else is purely self-deception. You can go on
for a little while but you can never escape the judgment awaiting you. You
forgot your first love. You thought and planned and schemed and forgot He is
watching from above to judge the quick and the dead. He has not forgot you. You
should have listened to Him while you could.
Now, that time of listening is over.
Your pride stands between you. The wall is greater than any you could ascend
yourself. You need to grow quiet and humble and this time both knees if you
please.
The enemy is being totally destroyed
this very moment. He looks up and asks why and God’s answer is the same as it is
to all oppressors. You failed Him and therefore failed yourself in the process.
You loved Yourself more than Him. You desired your own comfort and pleasures
more than His Kingdom. Now, is your hour of destruction and oppression is the
millstone around your neck.
The wayward always ask the same
thing—“Why Am I suffering so much?” The answer is, “You are paying for the crimes you have committed in
your body. You chose your own understanding. You chose your own way. You decided
your own fate. Now, it is time to pay the piper. The enemy is defeated come what
may.”
Heaven has not begun to do what it is
capable of doing. It restrains itself to giving frail humanity a bit of mercy
and a lot of grace. But, time is passing
and still the answer remains the same. Oppression is marching on without
remorse.
So, this is Heaven’s answer--the
trumpet has sounded, the bugle has called, the ram’s horn’s clarion call has
gone forth. The army is driving forth and armed for destruction of all who would
think that sincerity is enough to appease the God of Heaven. Little do they know
Him—because if they understood they would not do what they have done. They would
cower in fear and beg for mercy and sue for peace.
But, as it is they don’t understand.
Their ears are deaf. Their hearts are devoid of wisdom and truth. So, now is
their hour of judgment. God is not to be mocked, what a man sows so shall
he also reap. His word is true:
Behold, a king will reign in
righteousness, And princes will rule
with justice. A man will be as a hiding
place from the wind, And a cover from
the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry
place, As the shadow of a great rock in
a weary land. The eyes of those who see
will not be dim, And the ears of those
who hear will listen. Also the heart of
the rash will understand knowledge, And
the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
The foolish person will no longer be called
generous, Nor the miser said to be
bountiful; For the foolish person will
speak foolishness, And his heart will
work iniquity: To practice
ungodliness, To utter error against the
LORD, To keep the hungry
unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink
of the thirsty to fail. Also the schemes
of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the needy speaks
justice.
But a generous man devises
generous things, And by generosity he
shall stand. Isaiah 32:1-8
"Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your
God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the
LORD, And in His law he meditates day
and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its
season, Whose leaf also shall not
wither; And whatever he does shall
prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives
away. Psalm 1:1-4
Sincerity
and presumption are never a guarantee of anything including salvation. Just
because people are sincere and presume something does not mean they will not be
defeated and destroyed! We have a good
example of this in the lives of the children of Israel who were told by God to
go in and take the Promised Land. But they murmured and complained and decided
that God was evil and not good and wanted to destroy them in the Promised Land.
The bible records:
So all the congregation lifted up
their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained
against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we
had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! "Why
has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and
children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to
Egypt?" So they said to one another,
"Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their
faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of
Israel. But Joshua the son of Nun and
Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land,
tore their clothes; and they spoke to
all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed
through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
"If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and
give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' "Only do not rebel
against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their
protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear
them." And all the congregation said to
stone them with stones.
Now the glory of the LORD appeared
in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. Then the LORD said to Moses: "How long will
these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the
signs which I have performed among them?
"I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will
make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." Numbers 14:1-12
As the children of
Israel
Then the LORD said: "I have
pardoned, according to your word; "but
truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD-
"because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt
and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have
not heeded My voice, "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to
their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
"But My servant Caleb, because he
has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the
land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. "Now the Amalekites
and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the
wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea." Numbers 14:20-27
The Lord who is the Lord sentenced
them to live out their remain days in the wilderness so that their carcasses may
fall there. He took an oat that none, except for Caleb and Joshua, would by no
means enter the land that He swore He would make them dwell in. Their sons would
be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of their
infidelity until their carcasses were consumed in the wilderness. They would be
rejected for forty years or one year for each day they spied the Promised
Land. God then commanded them to turn
and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea the next
day.
It sure does not pay to make the Lord
angry and put him to the test? For God doesn't take rejection likely but then
neither does any person. The other fact of the matter is that God doesn't speak
just to hear Himself. He speaks so that men will listen and obey.
Well the children of Israel thought
since they were God's people and He was a good God, God would overlook their
sin. So the next day they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of
the mountain, saying to Moses:
"Here we are, and we will go up to
the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!" And Moses said, "Now why do you transgress
the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. "Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your
enemies, for the LORD is not among you.
"For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you
shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD
will not be with you."
But they presumed to go up to the
mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses
departed from the camp. Then the
Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked
them, and drove them back as far as Hormah. Numbers 14:40-45
Moses told the children of Israel
that they were once again transgress the command of the Lord to go to the place,
which the Lord had promised. He told them they would not succeed but be defeated
by their enemies for the Lord was not among them. Since they had turned away
from the Lord. But they presumed to go up the mountaintop and their enemies came
down and attacked them and defeated them.
Presuming things and leaning to one's
own wisdom and understanding is a sure recipe for failure and defeat. For God's
word is true even this day:
"Has the LORD as great delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in
obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, And to
heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion
is as the sin of witchcraft, And
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." 1
Samuel 15:22-23
How many battles are lost in life by
God's people because they had presumed things and did not wait upon the Lord to
hear and obey His voice and instructions on a particular matter? It is not wise
to quick and so rushed to run about and be so busy doing nothing of any
importance. Better to wait in faith and trust in God and follow the directions
given by the Commander-in-chief of the armies of heaven.
God in a split second by the moving
of His Spirit can do what men in their perspiration's and efforts cannot do in a
thousand years. He can make the crooked things straight and the wrongs right for
a start. He can set one up and put
another down. He can raise one up and bring another low. His word is unchanging:
And Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is
exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
"No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any
rock like our God.
"Talk no more so very proudly; Let
no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed. "The bows of
the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out
for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne
seven, And she who has many children has
become feeble.
"The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up. The LORD makes poor and makes
rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts
the beggar from the ash heap, To set
them among princes And make them inherit
the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He has
set the world upon them. He will guard
the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. "For by strength no man shall
prevail.
The adversaries of the LORD shall
be broken in pieces; From heaven He will
thunder against them. The LORD will
judge the ends of the earth. "He will
give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed." 1 Samuel
2:6-10
God devises many plans and execute
every one of them. He never lets His true ones out of His capable hands. He is
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. The promise of the Rainbow
is all His. Though the mountains be moved and cast into the sea, yet no harm
will come to His true ones. For they have placed their heart in His hands and
trusted Him with their very soul! God loves to care for His creation and they
are the ultimate part of His creation! He will never leave, fail or forsake
them, as they are the central joy of His heart!
God is our refuge and strength, A
very present help in trouble. Therefore
we will not fear, Even though the earth
be removed, And though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams
shall make glad the city of God
There is
no one and nothing greater than God, who is for and not against His trusting
ones. Just think of it, the God who created heaven and earth is the refuge,
strength and very present help in time of trouble of His trusting ones. He shall
help them and that right early. Mind you God doesn’t think like a man or does
things the ways men do things. He has a wisdom, understanding and knowledge that
are beyond those of men. Nevertheless the God who raised Jesus Christ from the
dead, and restored all things back to Him is for and with His trusting ones. He
will do if need be greater miracles for them for He is their God!
God’s true remnant soldiers do
not march alone or to their own tune. They march to God’s tune and serve Him in
spirit and in truth. They desire all of His truth and hunger for it as one
hungers for real food. The health His
truth brings runs true to all God promises to His children. His life is health
to their very bones. It is healing and covenant blessings. It is strength in the
midst of the storm. It is victory in battle. It is courage in the face of the
enemy—mainly man. It is wisdom in the hour of debate or moment of truth.
But, can God lie? No, He cannot! His
promises are irrevocable. They cannot be changed or deterred from their purpose
and intent. He is the God of integrity and Truth and The Law. He has established
the covenants He promised to Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus and all who follow
Him. He has a covenant with the heirs of
the Promise. His word is true:
“And I will establish My covenant
between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. “Also I
give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger,
all the land of
Canaan
“Behold, I send an Angel
before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have
prepared. “Beware of Him and obey His
voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My
name is in Him.
“But if you indeed obey His voice
and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an
adversary to your adversaries. “For My
Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and
the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will
cut them off.
“You shall not bow down to
their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall
utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He
will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the
midst of you. “No one shall suffer
miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your
days.
“I will send My fear before you, I
will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all
your enemies turn their backs to you.
“And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite,
the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. Exodus 23:20-28
Hence God’s true ones are to walk in
their new inheritance in Christ. For
when they have accepted Christ and surrendered all to Him, they have inherited
the New Jerusalem. The bounty of the Rainbow Jesus Christ is theirs with all the
benefits and provisions that are promised in its covenant.
God has made a covenant with His
people to be God to them and their descendants after them. He has promised in
the covenant that if they would indeed obey His voice and do all that He would
speak to them, then He will be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to
their adversaries.
They shall serve the LORD their God,
and He will bless their bread and water. He will take sickness away from the
midst of them. None shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in their land and He
will fulfill the number of their days.
He will be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their
adversaries. His word is
unchanging:
"If any of you are driven
out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather
you, and from there He will bring you.
"Then the LORD your God will bring
you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will
prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
"And the LORD your God will
circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your
God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
"Also the LORD your God will put
all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
Deuteronomy 30:4-7
Fear not, for I am with
you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
"Behold, all those who were
incensed against you Shall be ashamed
and disgraced; They shall be as
nothing, And those who strive with you
shall perish. You shall seek them and
not find them- Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. For I, the LORD your God, will hold your
right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I
will help you.' Isaiah 41:10-13
All those who were incensed against
God’s trusting ones shall be ashamed and disgraced and they shall be as nothing.
And those who strive with them shall perish.
Those who contended with them, those who war against them shall be as
nothing, as a nonexistent thing. An
enemy cannot be more nothing then when he or she becomes a nonexistent thing?
Yet this is what God has promised to do to the enemies of His trusting ones
including put all the negative curses on those who hate and persecute them! Yet
His word is unchanging:
"Then I said to you, 'Do not be
terrified, or afraid of them. 'The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will
fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt
"When you go out to battle against
your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do
not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up
from the land of
Egypt
"So it shall be, when you are on
the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the
people. "And he shall say to them,
'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not
let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified
because of them; 'for the LORD your God
is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'
Deuteronomy 20:1-4
"There is no one like the God of
Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help
you, And in His excellency on the clouds.
The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy
from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!'
Then Israel
Happy are you, O Israel! Who is
like you, a people saved by the LORD,
The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places."
Deuteronomy 33:26-29
But the angel of the LORD said to
Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of
Samaria Israel
"Now therefore, thus says the
LORD: 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you
shall surely die.' " So Elijah departed.
And when the messengers returned
to him, he said to them, "Why have you come back?"
So they said to him, "A man came
up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to
him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel
Then he said to them, "What kind
of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?"
So they answered him, "A hairy man
wearing a leather belt around his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the
Tishbite." 2 Kings 1:1-8
Those rebellious children who inquire
of other gods, including men, in their hour of need shall be put to shame. For
there is only One God and His word is unchanging:
"Woe to the rebellious children,"
says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but
not of Me, And who devise plans, but not
of My Spirit, That they may add sin to
sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of
Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of
Egypt! Therefore the strength of
Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. For his princes were at Zoan, And his
ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all
ashamed of a people who could not benefit them,
Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach." Isaiah
30:1-5
Woe to those who go down to Egypt
for help, And rely on horses, Who trust
in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very
strong, But who do not look to the Holy
One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD! Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
And will not call back His words, But
will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of those who work iniquity.
Now the Egyptians are men, and not
God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His
hand, Both he who helps will fall, And
he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together. Isaiah
31:1-3
It’s not only wrong but it is sin to
take counsel, but not of God, and to
devise plans, but not of His
Spirit. Those who walk in the ways of the world and have not asked God’s
advice to strengthen themselves in the strength of the might ones and to
trust in the shadow of world shall be
humiliated and put to shame because
they did not look to Holy One,
nor seek the LORD! Yet He also is wise
and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise
against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity.
Now the worldly ones are men, and not
God and their strength is flesh, and not
spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and
he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together. For God’s
doesn’t lie though others do.
It’s foolish to follow men and to
listen to their opinions and ignore what God has to say about everything. Yes,
the Creator and Sustainer of Heaven and earth is more than qualified to speak
His thoughts about any matter, be it big or small, including the fact that He is
the Judge of all the earth and a man of War. The bible records for our profit
and instruction:
God is jealous, and the LORD
avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious.
The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies; The LORD is slow to anger and great in
power, And will not at all acquit the
wicked. The LORD has His way In the
whirlwind and in the storm, And the
clouds are the dust of His feet. He
rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And
dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel Lebanon
The LORD is good, A stronghold in
the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies. Nahum
1:2-8
Yes, those who find themselves
fighting against God rather than fighting with Him will pay for their
foolishness just like Korah, Dathan and Abiram did when they rose up against
Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the
congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. The glory of God came down and the Lord did a
new thing. The bible records for our profit and instruction:
Now it came to pass, as he
finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed
them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.
So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed
over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
Then all Israel
Foolish men, even religious ones,
believe that God is dead or He has changed His methods. They falsely believe
that God doesn’t judge or destroy His people today. But what do we see around us
if it isn’t the judgments of God? It’s sure isn’t heaven on earth but rather
lack of earth with millions of people starving, suffering, hurting and dying.
Foolish men cannot believe that God
is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His
adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; The LORD who is slow to
anger and great in power does not at all acquit the wicked. He has His way In the whirlwind and in the
storm, and the clouds are the dust of
His feet. Yes, the LORD is good, a
stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an
utter end of its place, and darkness
will pursue His enemies. No, it doesn’t pay to become an enemy of God or of a
true man of God, as there can be and
will be severe negative consequences.
The bible records for our profit and instruction:
Then the king sent to him a
captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was,
sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: "Man of God, the king has
said, 'Come down!' " So Elijah answered
and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, then let fire come down
from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven
and consumed him and his fifty.
Then he sent to him another
captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: "Man of
God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly!' "
So Elijah answered and said to
them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and
your fifty men." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and
his fifty.
Again, he sent a third captain of
fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and
fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: "Man of
God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be
precious in your sight.
"Look, fire has come down from heaven and
burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life
now be precious in your sight."
And the angel of the LORD said to
Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he arose and went down
with him to the king.
Then he said to him, "Thus says
the LORD: 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of
Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel
So Ahaziah died according to the
word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became
king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of
Judah
Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he
did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel
Now it came to pass, when Jesus
finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach
and to preach in their cities. And when John had heard in prison about the works
of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell
John the things which you hear and see: "The blind see and the lame walk; the
lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have
the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of
Me." Matthew 11:1-6
The Good God of miracles is alive and
well today and he still makes the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf hear,
the dead raise and the poor have the gospel preach to them, the good news
that:
For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that
you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9
And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may
have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: "He has dispersed
abroad, He has given to the poor; His
righteousness endures forever."
Now may He who supplies seed to
the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and
increase the fruits of your righteousness,
while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes
thanksgiving through us to God. 2 Corinthians 9:8-11
Because Jesus Christ became poor,
lived like a man, and died on Calvary God’s children can now become rich. For
God is able to make all grace about towards them, that they, always having all
sufficiency in all things, many have an abundance for every good work. His word
is unchanging:
Seeing then that we have a great
High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
God loves His own very deeply. He is
not concerned for the future because He knows the future. It is bright and
beautiful for those who are His. He is not going to allow anything to come
between them and their promised future. He is not fickle or unreliable. He
doesn’t change. What He has promised is written in Gold. They are pure like the
Ten Commandments He has given to men on tablets of stone. They are
unchangeable.
The road of life might be rocky and
full of pitfalls but God Himself is on the road with them. His word is
unchanging:
“Behold, I send an Angel before
you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have
prepared. “Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not
pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. “But if you indeed obey His voice and do all
that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your
adversaries.
“For My Angel will go before you
and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the
Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. “You
shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their
works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their
sacred pillars.
“So you shall serve the LORD
your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness
away from the midst of you. “No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in
your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
“I will send My fear before you, I
will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all
your enemies turn their backs to you. “And I will send hornets before you, which
shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
Exodus 23:20-28
God has made a covenant with His
people to be their God and a God to them. He has made a covenant to be their
provider, defender, helper and everything they need. He has promised to
abundantly bless and prosper them if they will listen to and obey His voice and
walk in His ways. For His word is true:
“Nevertheless I tell you the
truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the
Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. “And when He has come, He will convict the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: “of sin, because they do not believe in
Me; “of righteousness, because I go to
My Father and you see Me no more; “of judgment, because the ruler of this world
is judged.
“I still have many things to say
to you, but you cannot bear them now. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth,
has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own
authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to
come. “He will glorify Me, for He will
take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
“All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will
take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:7-15
The Helper, the other One, whom Jesus
sent in His name will guide them into all truth. He will speak to them what He
hears from the Father. He will tell them of things to come. He will glorify
Jesus by taking of what belongs to Jesus and sharing it with and giving it God’s
true ones. For all that belongs to Father now belong to Jesus and hence they
belong to God’s true children.
All of heaven riches and resources
are theirs because God, Himself, is their shield, rock, refuge, strength, friend
and their exceeding great reward. They are to be of good cheer. For in the world
they have tribulation but their brother and friend Jesus Christ has overcome the
world. For God’s word is true:
“These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Jesus Christ overcame the worst that
the world, the flesh and the devil had thrown at Him. He is literally the Victor
and the “more than a conqueror.” As a result all authority has been given to Him
in heaven and on earth including the power and the glory, the victory and the
majesty. For all that is in heaven and
in earth is the Lord’s including the kingdom of God
For His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, And His kingdom is from
generation to generation. All the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of
heaven And among the inhabitants of the
earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?” Daniel
4:34-35
Yours, O LORD, is the
greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is
Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O
LORD, And You are exalted as head over
all. Both riches and honor come from
You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12
Grace to you and peace from Him
who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before
His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the
dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed
us from our sins in His own blood, and
has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelations 1:4-6
Jesus Christ, is the ruler over
the kings of the earth and He has made us kings and priests to His God and
Father, His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from
generation to generation. All the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and He does according to His
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
To Jesus Christ belong the
greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; as all that is
in heaven and in earth is His. Both riches and honor come from Him and in His
hand is power and might; to heal, deliver, make great and to give strength to
all. Hence He desires and wills and
works to make His trusting ones also the victory and more than the conquerors in
all things.
As a result, God’s true ones are not
to be concerned about the obstacles in their path. They are to take each one as
it comes and do what they do best—stand! They are to take authority over it and
persevere until it is out of their path by the Spirit of the Living God. For
God’s word is true:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places.
Therefore take up the whole armor
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on
the breastplate of righteousness, and
having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with
which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
one.
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints- Ephesians 6:10-18
The answers of life are not in men’s
wisdom or the world’s system. It is not in the abundance of what one possess. It
is in Jesus Christ, His truth and His wisdom and person in one’s spirit. This
closer walk with God and His person brings a person into a position of unity
with Heaven that is yet untapped and totally miss-understood.
God doesn’t want His teachers and
preachers to point to themselves but to God. He wants His sheep to turn to Him
and He will give them their marching orders. Then, they will find victory in
battle and they will do the right kind of service to Him. They all have a part
in His great plan and purposes.
Yet, God is left with a weak and hurt
people. This will not be forever. He is coming through to strength His people
and unite them in a way unprecedented in the history of the church. He has
ordained it from the beginning. The church, His body, will learn to learn and
hear His voice and follow their true shepherd. This day is coming and all will
see it.
But His true ones are not to be shy.
They are to ask God what they will and He will do it because He loves them so
much. He has promised to do whatsoever they ask in Jesus name. They can come to
His throne boldly and He will hear their prayers and He will deal with their
concerns. For they have His promises, His person and Him.
Hence they can now walk in the
assurance of God’s Presence in their life. For as God walked with Noah, Joseph,
Moses, Daniel, Elijah, and Jesus so now He walks with them.
God in Christ Jesus gives to His true
ones His P’s. The P’s of His presence, promises, person, power, protection,
provision, prosperity, providence and promotion:
His Presence - God is always with
His own. He has commanded them to be strong and of good courage and not to be
afraid, nor be dismayed. For the LORD their God is with them wherever they go
and His presence goes with them to give them rest and victory.
His Promises – Every promise and
every line in the bible is theirs including that no weapon which is formed
against them shall prosper and those who rise against them shall become a
nonexistent thing.
His Person - God is a Good God who
is for them, with them and not against them. He is on their side no matter what
they are facing. There is no searching of His understanding. His ears are open
to their prayers and His eyes are upon the righteous to bless them.
His Power – When God’s true ones
have His presence, promises and power they can trust Him to use His power for
their good in all kinds of circumstances and situations. Just like God did for
Jesus on Calvary when He raised Him from the
dead, gave Him victory over all His enemies and seated Him at His right
hand.
His Protection - God is the shield
and exceeding great reward of His true ones. As well as He is their rock,
refuge, strength, tower security and inheritance. He will bless and promote His
own and He will deliver and honor them.
His Provision - God has promised to meet and supply all
their need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus and He unlike others
is able to keep His word.
His Prosperity – God is not poor
or stupid and neither should His children be. He is their security and
inheritance and provision in the deserts of life. He is their hiding place! He
will move out every mountain and deal with every enemy and dispel every lack in
their life. Their prosperity will come upon them as the dawning of a bright and
new day. They will not be able to contain their joy and ecstasy at the provision
and security He is providing. He will multiply back to them a hundred fold all
they have done for Him.
His Providence
His Promotion – God has promised
that for those who set their love upon Him He will deliver them and set them on
high because they have known His name. He has promised to make them head and not
tail and above and not beneath. They shall call upon Him and He will answer
them. He will be with them in trouble and deliver and honor them. With long life
He will satisfy His true ones and show them His salvation.
As a result, the psalmist stated it
very well about those who put their trust in God alone and not others for their
deliverance:
Happy is he who has the God of
Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and
earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, Who executes
justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The
LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; He
relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside
down. The LORD shall reign forever- Your
God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise
the LORD! Psalm 146:5-10
And I, brethren, when I came to
you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the
testimony of God. For I determined not
to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you
in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom
of men but in the power of God.
However, we speak wisdom among
those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this
age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the
hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew;
for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those
who love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:1-9
Apostle Paul was in weakness, in
fear, and in much trembling. He was very conscious of his lack of strength,
ability and talent. He desperately needed the Holy Spirit causing Him to trust
and depend on the Lord. As a result his
speech and his preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power. So the faith of his converts were not
in the wisdom of men but in the power of God, which they saw, demonstrated. The
bible records:
Now God worked unusual miracles by
the hands of Paul, so that even
handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases
left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Acts 19:11-12
It was Paul’s desire that every one
on Earth have heard the gospel and He to missionary journeys make it so even facing great dangers and
trials. The bible records:
And when they had come to him, he
said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner
I always lived among you, "serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears
and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; "how I kept back nothing that was helpful,
but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,
testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward
our Lord Jesus Christ.
"And see, now I go bound in the
spirit to Jerusalem
Now thanks be to God who always
leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His
knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those
who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading
to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is
sufficient for these things? For we are
not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God,
we speak in the sight of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
By the grace and power of God Paul
was lead to triumph in Christ and to diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge in
every place. His sufficiency was God and he did not peddle the word of God; but
as of sincerity, but as from God, spoke in the sight of God in Christ. The Lord,
Himself, was Apostles Paul Friend, Counselor, Guide and Helper. Even though many
others failed or disappointed him, God did not! His word was
unchanging:
Do we begin again to commend
ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or
letters of commendation from you? You
are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ,
ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not
on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward
God. Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is
from God, who also made us sufficient as
ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the
letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Real men of God who did miracles in
their day and brought change to their society and generation, such as Elijah,
Jesus and Apostle Paul were men of prayer, of faith and of the Word. They were
men of action in the things of the Spirit and in things of man. Them weren’t
afraid of conflicts and took on impossible tasks which they never would have
accomplished if they didn’t have an ear that heard the Voice of God. They had a
prayer life that moved God’s hand and were filled with the Holy Spirit with a
special anointing from God to do their tasks.
They were also men of the integrity
and their word was their bond. They were men who were unafraid to do what needed
to be done. When something needed doing they would pray and then do it. Their
primary goal in life was to be about their Father’s business.
"How God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts
10:38 )
Now today, a lot of teaching on faith
and prayer is very contradictory and confusing.
Some people teach that after we have prayed about something we needn’t
pray about it about it again because it shows a lack of faith to do so. Others
restrict what we can pray about and what kind of prayers God answers. Others
teach that we are to confess the Word of
God rather than to pray about it. Others teach us that we are to pray about
everything and for everything regardless of what is in our hearts. But most of them don’t tell us that God
doesn’t hear our prayers if our hearts are filled with iniquity, unforgiveness,
resentment, sins and other things.
And He said to them, "It is
written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a
'den of thieves.' " (Matthew 21:13)
"Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make
long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matthew
23:14)
You and I are the temple of the Holy
Ghost and God’s house because He now lives in us and when we pray our spirit and
our hearts must be right and blameless before Him. If this isn’t the case we
must first pray that God will create in us a new heart and spirit, and take out
the stony heart of flesh, stubborn and rebellion which is in each man, and put a
right spirit in us.
God then gives us a discerning heart
to understand Him, His ways and others as well as how to handle the
circumstances of life in a spiritual way rather than a carnal way. God gives
wisdom, knowledge and understanding freely to all those who ask Him for this. If
we ourselves aren’t fed and clothed how can be we feed others? If we ourselves
don’t have anything how can we give others anything? For out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaks and much is accomplished especially in prayer.
So we must first pray for ourselves:
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And don’t lead us into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6: 11-13)
But who do we listen to and how do we
pray? The answer is simple, the work of God is always done by the Spirit. So we
first listen to the Spirit and receive Him and let Him rule and reign in our
lives. The receiving of the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit is done by
faith and God honors faith.
"If you then, being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Like 11:13 )
"And as I began to speak, the Holy
Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. "Then I remembered the Word
of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If therefore God gave them the same gift as He
gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could
withstand God?" (Acts 11:15-17)
When we pray in the Spirit it’s God
Himself, by the Spirit, praying through and in us making intercession for us.
Basically, He cannot say no to Himself and He answers His own prayers in the
spiritual realm.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in
our weaknesses. For we don’t know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He
makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that
all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:26-28)
After we pray in the Spirit and in
the understanding then we know that God makes all things to work together for
good to them that love God and are called and walk according to His purposes. It
isn’t automatic that all things work together for good. Its as we pray that God
deals with and changes things.
What is the conclusion then? I
will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will
sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (1
Corinthians 14:15)
How much do we really pray about
something? The answer to this question lies in the prayers and actions of Elijah
and Jesus. The Word of God tells us about Jesus.
Now it came to pass in those days
that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to
God. (Luke 6:12)
He went a little farther and fell
on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew
26:39)
Again, a second time, He went away
and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I
drink it, Your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)
So He left them, went away again,
and prayed the third time, saying the same words. (Matthew 26:44)
Prayer is a conversation between two
best friends and they talk about anything that is on each others hearts;
especially people who are always on the heart of God. People need our prayers
and it makes a difference in their lives.
We are to be anxious for nothing, but
by prayer and supplication make our requests to our friend and creator God and
He will bring it to pass! We haven’t fully understood this truth. He will do it!
He wills to change things! He will
change things, especially when His children ask in faith believing that He will
do It! Powerful prayer doesn’t come from many words but from an open and sincere
heart that is full of Him. It moves the mountains out of your path and even
stops and starts the rains, physical and spiritual.
Elijah was a man with a nature
like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it wouldn’t rain; and it didn’t rain on
the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven
gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:17-18)
Prayer is important for others and
for ourselves. Jesus told us that if we had faith we will move the mountains in
our lives out and cast them into the sea. We will tell the storms to be still
and it will still. Most of this is accomplished in prayer first. God does hear
our marvelous and wonderful prayers. He listens with the heart of a true Father
and cares for His precious children and prayer warriors.
True friends can say anything to each
other and they won’t take it wrong because love and the spirit of unity binds
them together in true acceptance and true love. This is especially true in
prayer.
"For what great nation is there
that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we
may call upon Him? (Deuteronomy 4:7)
I will call upon the LORD, who is
worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. (2 Samuel
22:4)
When we pray we have tremendous
resources available to us in prayer.
"Or do you think that I cannot now
pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of
angels? (Matthew 26:53)
When all the people were baptized,
it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven
was opened. (Luke 3:21)
And Elisha prayed, and said,
"LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of
the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)
We are to pray continually and until
we hear from Heaven and see our prayers answered. We are to follow the example
of Elijah who lived in faith, spoke the Word of God in faith and prayed in faith
until He knew that the answer was on it’s way. Elijah wouldn’t take no for an
answer when He had God’s Word on the matter especially about life. For life and
health is God’s will for all His people.
God’s word records for our profit and instruction:
Then Elijah said to Ahab,
"Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain." So Ahab
went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed
down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant,
"Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is
nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."
Then it came to pass the seventh
time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of
the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down
before the rain stops you.' "Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became
black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and
went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the LORD. (1 Kings 18:41 -46)
Now it happened, as He was dining
in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with
Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him
eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is
it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
When Jesus heard it, He said to
them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I
did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Mark
2:15-17
The great physician cannot help those
who refuse to acknowledge that they are sick. So they will die in their sickness
and God cannot do anything for them. Now sickness takes many forms including
physical, social, emotional and financial.
If you are completely physically whole but are emotionally sick than you
are not whole? If you are in great financial straits and are physically whole you are still in
trouble? But God’s word is unchanging:
I sought the LORD, and He heard
me, And delivered me from all my
fears. They looked to Him and were
radiant, And their faces were not
ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of
all his troubles. The angel of the LORD
encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is
good; Blessed is the man who trusts in
Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer
hunger; But those who seek the LORD
shall not lack any good thing. Psalm 34:4-10
But of Him you are in Christ
Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption- that, as it is written,
"He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
In Christ Jesus is found salvation
for the whole man, body, soul and Spirit.
While the young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack
any good thing. And this is a fantastic promise from a God who doesn’t lie! The
sick can be healed of any sickness by the great Physician for whom nothing is too big or too small to
handle. Mind you the carnal ones cannot understanding this truth because they
are lot led by the Spirit of God nor do they have the mind of Christ. But God’s
word is unchanging:
Be glad then, you children of
Zion
You shall eat in plenty and be
satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously
with you; And My people shall never be
put to shame. Then you shall know that I
am in the midst of Israel
Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the
things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words
which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing
spiritual things with spiritual. But
the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. 5 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is
rightly judged by no one. For "who has
known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of
Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:12-16
Those who wait upon the Lord and walk
in His ways and Spirit shall not be ashamed no matter what. They shall eat in
plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD their God, Who has
dealt wondrously with them. For He is their Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider,
Rock, Refuge, High
Tower
Amaziah was twenty-five years old
when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem
Now it happened, as soon as the
kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered
his father the king. However he did not
execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of
Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, "The fathers shall not be put to death
for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers;
but a person shall die for his own sin."
Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and
set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their
fathers' houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from
twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice
men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield.
He also hired one hundred thousand
mighty men of valor from Israel
But a man of God came to him,
saying, "O king, do not let the army of Israel
Then Amaziah said to the man of
God, "But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the
troops of Israel
So Amaziah discharged the troops
that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore their anger was
greatly aroused against Judah
It doesn’t pay not to heed the word
spoken by a true man of God, as the cost can and will be very costly. For God’s
word is unchanging:
"And the LORD said to me: 'What
they have spoken is good. 'I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from
among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to
them all that I command Him. 'And it shall be that whoever will not hear My
words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. Deuteronomy
18:17-19
"Beware therefore, lest what has
been spoken in the prophets come upon you: "Behold, you despisers, Marvel and
perish! For I work a work in your days,
A work which you will by no means believe,
Though one were to declare it to you.' " Acts 13:40-41
But truly I am full of power by
the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his
transgression And to Israel
Now hear this, You heads of the
house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel Zion
Many religious ones would have us
believe that if you were filled with the Holy Spirit you would do nothing to
upset others. But nothing is further from the truth for the bible referred to
the early disciples as “"These who have turned the world upside down have come
here too.” Where ever Apostle Paul went
there would be an explosion or a riot. The bible records for our prophet and
instruction:
Now when they had gone through the
island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose
name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the
proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and
Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer (for so
his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from
the faith. Then Saul, who also is called
Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "O full of
all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness,
will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? "And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is
upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And
immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead
him by the hand.
Then the proconsul believed, when
he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Acts
13:6-12
Yes, there are those false prophets
in our midst who are full of all deceit and all fraud, sons of the devil,
enemies of all righteousness who pervert the straight ways of the Lord and need
to be dealt with by those who are filled with the Spirit. Again the bible records for our
instruction:
Now it happened, as we went to
prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us,
who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 7 This girl followed
Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High
God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned
and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out
of her." And he came out that very hour. Acts 16:16-18
Apostle Paul was continually warning
Christians about false ones be it apostles, teachers or leaders. The bible
records for our profit and instruction:
"Therefore I testify to you this
day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
"For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all
the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the
church of
God
"So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to
the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance
among all those who are sanctified. "I
have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands
have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. "I have shown you in every way, by laboring
like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord
Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts
20:26-35
Apostle Paul clearly warned God’s
people to let no one deceive them with empty words, for because of these things
the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. They were not to be partakers with
fornicators, unclean persons, covetous ones, adulterers, nor idolaters. They
were to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
expose them. They were to arise from the dead, and Christ would give them light.
As God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore be imitators of God as
dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself
for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or
covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
For this you know, that no
fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
For you were once darkness, but now you are
light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and
truth), finding out what is acceptable
to the Lord. And have no fellowship with
the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those
things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are
made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is
light.
Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you
light." Ephesians 5:1-14
This idea of getting along with all
men and closing ones eyes to their evil, wicked, and perverted ways is against
the word of God. On the contrary the word of God teaches to beware of false ones
and what was going on around them. For God’s word is true:
Now the Spirit expressly says that
in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own
conscience seared with a hot iron,
forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the
truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3
Preach the word! Be ready in
season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and
teaching. For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because
they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the
truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:2-4
These are wells without water,
clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
forever. For when they speak great
swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through
lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While
they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom
a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they
have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter
end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them
not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from
the holy commandment delivered to them.
But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns
to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." 2
Peter 2:17-22
For as the heavens are high above
the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east
is from the west, So far has He removed
our transgressions from us. As a father
pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our
frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:11-14
One of the great truths of the word
of God is that:
The LORD takes pleasure in those
who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy. Psalm 147:11
Another great truth is
that:
For the LORD is good; His mercy is
everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:5
And another great truth is
that:
No king is saved by the multitude
of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain
hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the
eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To
deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; He is
our help and our shield. For our heart
shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy,
O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. Psalm 33:16-22
Yes, the eye of the LORD is on those
who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine. He is
their help and their shield, as well as their exceeding great reward. He redeems their life from destruction and
crowns them with lovingkindness and tender mercies.
The tender mercies and
lovingkindnesses of the Lord towards His trusting are never failing and they are
better than life. The secret of the LORD
is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. His word is
unchanging:
Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who
trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle- My lovingkindness and my
fortress, My high tower and my
deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.
LORD, what is man, that You take
knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a
breath; His days are like a passing
shadow. Psalm 144:1-4
Happy is he who has the God
of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all
that is in them; Who keeps truth
forever, Who executes justice for the
oppressed, Who gives food to the
hungry.
The LORD gives freedom to the
prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of
the blind; The LORD raises those who are
bowed down; The LORD loves the
righteous. The LORD watches over the
strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He
turns upside down. Psalm 146:6-9
There is no one who can do what the
Lord can do, including giving freedom to the prisoners and opening the eyes of
the blind. He who keeps truth forever
executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. His word is true:
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all
that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And
forget not all His benefits: Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender
mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with
good things, So that your youth is
renewed like the eagle's. The LORD
executes righteousness And justice for
all who are oppressed. Psalm 103:1-6
As for man, his days are like
grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is
gone, And its place remembers it no
more. But the mercy of the LORD is from
everlasting to everlasting On those who
fear Him, And His righteousness to
children's children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His
commandments to do them.
The LORD has established His
throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules
over all. Psalm 103:15-19
Yes, the LORD has established His
throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Yes, the mercy of the LORD is
from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to
children's children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His
commandments to do them.
But those who have received God’s
mercies and lovingkindness have a responsibility to give it to others. Otherwise
they will find themselves in places they never expected to be. For God’s word is
true:
Then Peter came to Him and said,
"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?"
Jesus said to him, "I do not say
to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
"Therefore the kingdom of heaven
is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. "And when he had begun to settle accounts,
one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. "But as he was not able to pay, his master
commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and
that payment be made.
"The servant therefore fell down
before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you
all.'
"Then the master of that servant
was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
"But that servant went out and
found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid
hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you
owe!'
"So his fellow servant fell down
at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you
all.'
"And he would not, but went and
threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
"So when his fellow servants saw
what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all
that had been done.
"Then his master, after he had
called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt
because you begged me. 'Should you not
also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on
you?'
"And his master was angry, and
delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to
him.
"So My heavenly Father also will
do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his
trespasses." Matthew 18:21-35
Now behold, one came and
said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal
life?"
So He said to him, "Why do you
call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter
into life, keep the commandments." He
said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not
commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,'
'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' "
The young man said to Him, "All these things I
have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you want to
be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that
saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matthew
19:16-22
The real story of the rich man who
kept the commandments of God shows us that you can do all things right and still
miss the boat as far as God is concerned. It was hard for the man to heed what
Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Nevertheless God’s word is unchanging:
Then Jesus said to His disciples,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me. "For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it.
"For what profit is it to a man if
he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul? "For the Son of
Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will
reward each according to his works. Matthew 16:24-27
Yes, what profit is it to a man if he
gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
The idea of being a loser in spite of all that you did in life was
something that troubled apostle Paul. He was very conscious about being
blameless and harmless in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation less he
had run in vain or labored in vain. For these things do happen in life and God’s
word is unchanging:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you
both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining
and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God
without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you
shine as lights in the world, holding
fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have
not run in vain or labored in vain. Philippians 2:12-16
Those who are God’s true ones, forget
those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead.
They press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus. They are beware of dogs and evil workers and worship God in the Spirit,
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. They count all
things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, and
press on, that they might lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has
also laid hold of them. As God’s word is unchanging:
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in
the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it
is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God
in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh, though I also might have
confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the
flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth
day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews;
concerning the law, a Pharisee;
concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless.
But what things were gain to me,
these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss
for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain
Christ and be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in
Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His
death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not
that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I
may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to
have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:1-14
God’s true ones, unlike the carnal
ones, are filled with the knowledge of God’s
will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. They walk worthy of the
Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in
the knowledge of God. They are
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience
and longsuffering with joy. They continually
give thanks to the Father who has qualified them to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in the light. For He has delivered them from the power
of darkness and conveyed them into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, and has given them redemption through His blood,
as well as the forgiveness of sins.
They serve the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation by whom all things were created that are in heaven
and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. They
preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that they might
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. They seek the best interests of
others above their own. They obey the
words of Jesus who told them:
…. "Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. "He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned.
"And these signs will follow those who
believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no
means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will
recover."
So then, after the Lord had spoken
to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of
God. And they went out and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the
accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:15-20
… He commanded them not to depart
from Jerusalem
Therefore, when they had come
together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel
And He said to them, "It is not
for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem Judea and Samaria
Therefore, putting away lying,
"Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one
another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let
him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to
give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what
is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away
from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32
Some of the meanest, stingiest,
unloving, unkindest, selfish, and greedy people that I met were Christians who
went to church regularly. The residue of poison of hate, envy, resentment,
bitterness, greed, distrust, futility, defeat, depression etc. just oozes out
from them, especially as they grow older.
The "residue of poisonous sin" must have been accumulated from hurtful
experiences of the past or unfulfilled dreams for God’s word states:
My son, give attention to my
words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your
eyes; Keep them in the midst of your
heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out
of it spring the issues of life. Put
away from you a deceitful mouth, And put
perverse lips far from you. Proverbs 4:20-24
Deceit is in the heart of those
who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy. Proverbs 12:20
Hope deferred makes the heart
sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
Does a spring send forth fresh
water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear
olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and
fresh. Who is wise and understanding
among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness
of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not
boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is
earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and
every evil thing are there. But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to
yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James
3:11-18
The problem with these kinds of
Christians is that they have been religious too long acquiring head knowledge
about God and His word and have not experienced His love and His wonderful
miracle working power. They were deceived by the enemy and by their false
teachers and had not come into victory. They have not understood that Jesus was
"bruised for our iniquities," He took all our hurts and the consequences upon
Himself when He died on the cross, and as a result they could be free from all
pain, sickness, diseases, grief, suffering caused by life or the enemy. Yes,
Jesus has the power to "set at liberty (and heal) them that are bruised" (Luke.
4:18 ). But they must accept and enter in the rest of
the finished work of the cross of Calvary and
enjoy the victory that He has won for them. They must receive God's forgiveness
for all things and forgive others who have hurt or offended them. Then the
healing process of the inner man can begin once they let go of all the negative
things in their hearts including unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, envy, lust
and covetousness. God’s word is unchanging:
Give us this day our daily
bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours
is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
"For if you forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew .
6:11-15
Then Peter came to Him and said,
"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say
to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a
certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. "And when he had begun to settle accounts,
one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. "But as he was not able to pay, his master
commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and
that payment be made. "The servant
therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I
will pay you all.' "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion,
released him, and forgave him the debt.
"But that servant went out and
found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid
hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet
and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' "And he would not, but went and threw him
into prison till he should pay the debt.
"So when his fellow servants saw
what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all
that had been done.
"Then his master, after he had called him,
said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged
me. 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I
had pity on you?' "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers
until he should pay all that was due to him. "So My heavenly Father also will do
to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his
trespasses." Matthew 18:21-35
The word of God tells us that the
Israelites failed to enter into all the promised inheritance God had for them
because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19 ). The warning is given to Christians: “Since A
PROMISE remains of entering HIS REST, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have
come short of it . . . BEWARE, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief.”(Heb.4:1, 3:12 ). Peter tells us that the Jews “stumble being
disobedient TO THE WORD”(1 Pet. 2:8). A
part of their trouble was that they were blinded by their traditions (Matt.
7:6-13). We need the help of the Holy
Spirit to remove from us all unbelief and pride which will keep us from the many
different blessing that God has for us. Human pride is at the root of most man’s
stumbling through unbelief and disobedience. God’s word is unchanging
Pride goes before
destruction, And a haughty spirit before
a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. He
who heeds the word wisely will find good,
And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he. Proverbs 16:18-20
But God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things
of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of
the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which
are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption- that, as it is written, "He who glories, let
him glory in the LORD 1 Corinthians 1:27 -31
Yes, "Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a FALL," Pride is simply the ADULATION of SELF,
wanting to be a law unto oneself, independent, with a feeling of importance, and
a desire for acclaim from others. There are DEGREES of pride and ALL of us have a measure of this
problem. Pride makes a person
inflexible, unyielding, and unteachable, and through it one is deceived into
trying to justify SELF in many ways or in opening doors to unclean and familiar
spirits to do their havoc in our lives. Pride prevents us from totally depending
upon Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. But we must submit and yield to the Lord in ALL
things; not just initial salvation. And if in any area of our lives where we
resist the INWORKING of the Spirit, through pride and self-will enter into
disobedience, we are headed for a stumbling and FALL. Since "God
resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” we must THEREFORE SUBMIT TO GOD. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from us. We must humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and
he will lift us up. God’s word is unchanging:
Likewise you younger people,
submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another,
and be clothed with humility, for "God
resists the proud, But gives grace to
the humble." Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares
for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the
faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in
the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen,
and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen 1
Peter 5:5-11
Chapter 43
"If you ask anything in My name, I
will do it. John 14:14
Therefore God also has highly
exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and
of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
Because Jesus made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men,
He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of
the cross, therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. But the practical application of
all this is that when we use the name of Jesus, all of heaven backs it up with
authority and power of that name! And we use that name when we pray and when we
come against demonic powers and opposition.
Man is a spirit, God is a Spirit, and
Satan is a spirit. Since we came from the spirit it only makes senses that all
our solutions to all our problems come from the spirit - problems that are
largely caused by Satan and his cohorts. We are not in a natural conflict in our
problems, our sicknesses, our anxieties, our frustrations and our fears. We are in a spiritual warfare in the spirit
world which is the root cause of our problems (Ephesians 6:12 ). Hence we must allow our hearts and life
to be fertile soil for the word of God that we alone determine its yield
(Matthew 13:18 -23). Without
the word of God and the Spirit of God, we will not defeat our enemy who is very
crafty, sly, evil and devious. We must not believe the devil’s lies about God
that sickness, suffering and poverty are God’s work. In reality the truth is
that they are the devil’s work. God is a good God who wants to do and give good
things and the devil is a bad devil who wants to do bad things and he seeks whom
he may devour.
One of the big problems is not the
worldliness of the world but the worldliness of the church which is very carnal
and has very little understanding about God and His power. It’s a church that
for most part not only rejects the gifts of the Spirit but also the five fold
ministries that God gave to the church of Apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers. The church too often is a social center, a recreational
center, a prayer and bible center while deep human needs including sin,
sickness, spiritual death and poverty are not dealt with by the miracle working
power of God. But God has given to each man the gift of faith to obtain from God
everything that He needs to be healthy, wealthy, whole and complete (Romans
12:3, Hebrews 11:32-34) God’s word is true:
Grace and peace be multiplied to
you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given
to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of
Him who called us by glory and virtue,
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,
that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue, to virtue knowledge, to
knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you
will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. For he who lacks these things is
shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his
old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even
more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things
you will never stumble; for so an
entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-11
Yes, God’s divine power has given to
us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him
who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly
great and precious promises, including faith. To the faith that God has given us
we are to add virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to
self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly
kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We are not to take faith for granted
as it’s a gift from God beyond the five senses of taste, touch, hearing, seeing
and smelling. Faith can encounter every trial, problem, circumstance and make us
more than a conqueror. Faith makes every equal be they rich, poor, educated and
uneducated. And by faith each person can bring heaven down on earth and make
things happen on earth in the current time of life including miracles of
salvation, healing and deliverance. But we must hear God’s voice beyond being
born again and speaking in tongues (John 3:3-8, Acts 2:4). We must have and
operate in the same anointing that Jesus had and do greater works just as He has
promised:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
"But you shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem Judea and Samaria
Jesus Christ our Savior, example and
our life, did nothing independently of His Father or the Holy Spirit. Through
prayer He discerned the will of the Father and trusted the Holy Spirit to give
Him wisdom and power to fulfill that will. Jesus Christ operated in the gifts of
the Spirit and manifested all the fruits of the Spirit He was totally immersed
and saturated with the Holy Spirit. He came to destroy the works of the devil
including sickness, poverty and lack. He
came to seek that which was lost and give miracles to people. He came to touch
and transform body, soul and spirit. God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. Galatians
6:15
And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may
have an abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
But may the God of all grace, who
called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 1 Peter 5:10
Self will has no place in the life of
a Christian especially those who are in the ministry and represent not only the
character of Christ but His miracle working power. Although Satan is there to
sift God’s people like wheat, God is also there to miraculously turn things
around for our good and give us the victory. He can do this because He is God.
But God’s people must pray continually in the Spirit which builds them up. God’s
word is unchanging:
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints- Ephesians 6:17-18
But you, beloved, building
yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life. Jude 1:20-21
Satan is a liar, deceiver, and
destroyer and there is no truth in Him. All that comes out of his mouth are
lies. He is the source of all lies. Sowing lies is one of his major strategies
in defeated Christians who have their minds believing his lies rather than the
promises of God. He lies and deceives Christian into believing that they are
weak and powerless and that sickness, diseases, pain and poverty are God’s will
for them. He lies and tells them that their negative circumstance or situation
is permanent and they don’t have any hope for healing, deliverance and victory.
But it’s all a lie from the pits of hell for Jesus Christ is their hope and
victory and all that they need. He is the All sufficient one. Although Satan is
the prince of the world, he is not in control of the world. It doesn’t belong to
him but to God. God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore David blessed the LORD
before all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed are You, LORD God of
Israel
The LORD is good to all, And His
tender mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,
And Your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your
power, To make known to the sons of men
His mighty acts, And the glorious
majesty of His kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your
dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The
eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.
Psalm 145:9-15
"Now is the judgment of this
world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. John 12:31
When Jesus Christ went to the cross
He told His disciples “the ruler of this world will be cast.” The moment Jesus
Christ was raised from the dead Satan was cast out. His power and domino over men is broken. He
no longer has control over men. God’s word is unchanging:
He has delivered us from the power
of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians
1:13-14
As the prince of the world, Satan is
rule and exercises power and dominion only over the unsaved who are in this
world and the evil world system he has organized. Any child of God can use the
name of Jesus against him and he has to flee. Through the anointing and the
fullness of the Holy Spirit God has enabled all His children to walk in one
hundred percent victory. They can take the victory over the devil that belongs
to them and all that he has stolen from them for greater is God that is in them
than the devil that is in the world. And everything must bow at the name of
Jesus for God’s word is unchanging:
"Most assuredly, I say to you that
you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
"A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but
as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the
anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will
see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from
you. "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. "Until now you have
asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:20-24
We are living in that day that Jesus
talked about where whatever we ask the Father in Jesus name He will give us. We
can ask and we will receive so that our joy may be full. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we
now have the Spirit with out measure. Hence when we call upon the name of Jesus
we invoke – put into operation – the power and authority that is in the name of
Jesus to manifest the healing, deliverance, whatever we need. We can claim
whatever we need – what rightfully belongs to us – and God will there to meet
the need because we are Christians, Christ like, Christ empowered, Christ’s
dwelling! Hence In Jesus name we can loose our angels to bring us in the now
great wealth, perfect health, great anointings, many miracles, total victories,
abundant prosperity, great and total restitution and restoration, houses, lands, cars and boats and every good
thing for God’s word is unchanging:
"These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33
And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:19
Beloved, I pray that you may
prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I
rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you,
just as you walk in the truth. 3 John 1:2-3
Victory
Ministries
Walter
Kambulow
November 1, 2008
All rights reserved
Burlington, Ontario
Mail to walthope@mail.com
